


Springkink 07

by Skeren



Series: World Glimpses [9]
Category: Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy VII, Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003), Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga, Fushigi Yuugi, Gundam Wing, Ranma 1/2, Weiß Kreuz, 幽☆遊☆白書 | YuYu Hakusho: Ghost Files
Genre: Accidental Voyeurism, Animal Play, Blindfolds, Body Paint, Body Swap, Crossdressing, Explosions, F/F, F/M, Gen, Ghost Sex, Ghosts, Human Experimentation, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Intersex, Knifeplay, Light Bondage, M/M, Master/Pet, Mind Control, Multi, Other, Psychological Torture, Resurrection, Rough Sex, Shapeshifting, Starvation, Tattoos, Zoofic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-09
Updated: 2016-02-10
Packaged: 2018-05-19 10:10:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 39
Words: 28,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5963454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skeren/pseuds/Skeren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a series of unrelated fics that were all written for the Springkink challenges of 2007. Enjoy the Compilation.</p><p>Please note the name is deceptive. There is very little actual sex or sexual content in most of these, and they instead explore unusual situations the characters would not otherwise be in.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. June 18: Birthday Present

**Author's Note:**

> These stories were written between June and October for the spring kink challenges of 2007. Each story will have the date it was claimed for as part of the chapter title.
> 
> The fandoms and themes will be a bit all over the place and tags will be added as each story is posted.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reno was _trying_ to be thoughtful.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m looking for something.”

“Reno, I don’t think anything in there will fit you.” She was sitting up by the time he turned around to give her a disgruntled look. She made sure her bed sheet was firmly over her breasts and gave him a sleepy glare in turn. “Why are you in my apartment?”

“Your birthday’s coming up. It made me think a bit. Y’know, that whole gift giving idea.”

“...and that somehow involved my underwear drawer?”

“Well, yeah, where else would you put the good stuff?”

“I don’t keep weapons with my panties Reno.”

“Weapons?” Again with that look, and she almost growled at him. “I wasn’t talking about weapons yo.”

“If you didn’t mean weapons, then what the hell are you looking for?” Shifting to grab the pillow, she hitched the sheet more securely around her body. 

“Toys. I mean, you’re a chick, you have to have a favorite type of toys.”

“Toys... You mean... Look. Even if I had any, which I don’t, I definitely wouldn’t want you touching them.” She shifted and lobbed the pillow at him, the other hand firm on the sheet. “Out. Now.”

“You’re kidding. I mean, c’mon Elena, you can share with good ol’ Reno now can’t you?”

“No. I don’t have any. I don’t want you _giving_ me any, so just get. Out.”

“Aw c’mon. You seriously don’t own a dildo?” When he held up his hands placatingly, which also blocked the pillow, she bared her teeth and started to crawl off the bed, plucking the gun out of the holster on her headboard. 

“I swear by Gaia Reno, you don’t get out of my apartment right now, I’m going to shoot you.”

He kept his hands up, backing through the doorway, but she wasn’t satisfied until he was out of the apartment and her door was locked.

It wouldn’t keep him out, but it was the thought that counted. 

Like she’d keep any toys in her underwear drawer. 

That was practically obvious.


	2. July 1st: Inclination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zoofic Ahoy. Sephiroth Packs in the wild.

When he had first brought the pup to their den, he hadn't been certain what to make of it. His mother, a Vincent, had lost his mate to one, so he'd long been wary of the mere idea of allowing his Zack to bring one home, species inclination or no. Thankfully, they were on decent, if not the most peaceful of terms with the Cloud pack to the north, and the group kept watch to ensure that their pups stayed within their own borders. 

Thus, it never seriously came up until a small, fluffy thing had practically died at his feet one day, running from the south and smelling highly of a Hojo. He had considered sending it back where it came from, but had known that his mate would never forgive him if he found out, so he had brought it home, and there it had remained since. 

That the Cloud was a surprisingly handsome one of his species, with no serious scars in spite of his time with the Hojo, and strong because he himself would tolerate no weak members of his pack, was only a bonus to him at the moment. Especially considering that he was watching the two, both his Zack and his Cloud, tumble peltless across the floor of their den, play fighting to determine which of them would be on top or bottom between them when they finally got around to mating.

They both knew they were bottoming to someone, as he had no intention of remaining on the sidelines of events for _that_ long, but it was nice to know that they could keep each other entertained when they so chose. It was also quite enjoyable to just soak in the sounds they made, since, after all, they would never leave him out.

And that, at least, was a thought well illustrated when they pounced.


	3. July 1st: Teaching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiei was trying to learn to temper his touch.

Kurama never turned him away when he came into his room in the middle of the night. He never gave him pitying looks or exasperation either. At most he would sometimes give him a sad look, but he wouldn't ask why he'd come, why he chose to bring his company to him in the night instead of her. They both knew the answers. The fox was uncanny in his understanding about things of this nature, and it suited their arrangement to not talk about it.

The other demon likely understood why he could never go to her. All he could ever offer her was bloodied hands and ripping strength. Ice-hearted demon or not, that was never going to be good enough for her, especially when he could never quite tell when a hug might be too tight, let alone anything else one might expect from a brother or lover.

So he went to Kurama. Kurama never protested the too-tight hugs, the bone bruising strength of his touches, the too fast progressions. All he did was smile and make sure to lead him far enough away from his home that there was no risk of them waking his human mother in the midst of passion. 

She was, it seemed, in a way to Kurama as Yukina was to him. Someone he didn't wish to hurt, his precious one, though the ways they would express such emotions given a choice were quite different. Whereas he feared hurting his sister physically, the fox only wanted to not disappoint his human or hurt her feelings. He did not want her afraid for him, and more especially not of him.

That was a large part of why it was easy to believe that the fox understood the cause of why he did these things this way. His hands touching left bruises that spirit energy would be needed to heal before movement was possible, his mouth drew unintentional blood with bites that he thought to be light and playful, not ravaging. Those and more were things that he would never be able to do with Yukina, invitation or no. 

Even an ice maiden could be hurt, and he never ever wanted to do that to his dear sister.

They would both have to wait until he'd learned better.

Eventually.


	4. July 2nd: Show of Faith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ranma felt safe with Kasumi.

Of everyone in the house, Kasumi was the one that never tried to hurt him. She was calm, sweet, and just tried her best to make sure that he got fed even when the stupid panda tried to do just the opposite. When his clothes ended up torn because of the constant fighting, she stitched them back together.

When he ended up bruised up because of the same, she was the only one that asked him if he was alright. The answer to that was usually no. No, he wasn't alright. 

Really, the only thing that was right about his life was Kasumi. The sister of hers he was engaged to was a bully. The other was out to scalp him of every bit of money she could get. His best friends, both male and female, went weird between seeing them once and the next time, so the boy was out to kill him over the bully, and the girl had gone lovesick insane like most of the other women he knew.

It didn't seem fair. He hadn't asked for any of that, and he had no time to relax, ever. Kasumi must have seen, noticed in some way, that his answers to her inquiries always seemed more upset, more bleak, more frustrated, because she took him aside and asked him what she could do.

He was a she at the time, not his fault, it practically never was, and she'd given him water hot enough to help, but not so hot it burned. She was the only one thoughtful enough to not try to scald his skin off in this stupid place. But, when she asked, he'd just held the water in his hands and found himself talking. Talking so much his throat ran dry, telling her what he didn't like, the ways that people had changed. Only when he was finished did he realize the water had cooled while he spoke.

She wasn't angry that he'd let it go to waste, instead just taking it from his hands and beckoning for him to follow her to the kitchen. She was the only one who did that too, that didn't get angry over his little mistakes and his unintentional lacks of appreciation. No, instead she just heated water and added some of the old so that it wouldn't scald, then spooned it over his head to return him to his rightful gender.

"Is that better Ranma?" She set the water down before getting him a towel, offering it to him as she gave him a look that was, if it could be judged, even more concerned than it had been over an hour before. 

"Yeah." His curt nod was enough to get her to smile, and she got him water, in a cup this time, so that he could help his throat. He found himself just staring down into it after, thinking over all he'd said just a while ago, knowing that if the panda found out he'd never live it down. 

The silence drew out, but he wasn't tempted to fill it. When he was with Kasumi, being quiet was okay. He didn't have to be boastful, didn't have to be careful, because he knew she wouldn't tell anyone that he'd messed up. She was practically the only one. 

Still, it was startling when she rested her hand on his shoulder, not in a way that could have been an attack though, it was gentler than that. It was… nice. "I'm glad you trust me. It means a lot that you do." When he stiffened, she just squeezed his shoulder a little, her smile turning a bit sad. "It's okay. I won't use it against you, but I think you know that."

There was quiet again, and when he set down the cup, she moved it away, allowing him to finally look at her without risking meeting her eyes again. He wasn't sure what to say about her knowing that he _did_ trust her. So he didn't say anything, getting to his feet to leave the room, to give her her space back. 

Still, even that didn't work out quite how he planned, since she moved back towards him, offering him her hand as she barred his path. He could have gone past her, if he'd really wanted to, and he figured she would have moved if he'd asked, but he was a little dumbstruck by the fact that she'd done it in the first place. 

It must have shown on his face, because she gave him that almost sad smile again, leaning to take his hand in a gentle hold before tugging him to follow as she started to walk. "It's alright Ranma, if I do anything that bothers you, you just have to tell me and I'll quit, okay? Even this." She squeezed his hand to indicate.

Realizing that she really meant that, he squeezed in turn, just in case she was planning on taking her hand back just because he was startled. He didn't want that. He just, he wasn't used to people being so nice to him. Especially not someone like her, who had her own admirers and wasn't trying to own him like half the population was. It was a relief in a way, and he shook his head quickly, drawing a deep breath. "I don't mind."

All she did was nod, her quiet steps taking them to her room, which he'd never braved going into before. She only released him then, gently nudging him fully inside before she closed her door behind them and turned on the light. The room suited her. It wasn't loud, or quiet, it was just… her. 

"Ranma. Breathe." The tone was gentle, but amused, and when she came around in front of him, he realized he hadn't been. So, he followed her instructions and gave her a sheepish smile. 

"Right. Um. Why are we in here?" He knew there was a better way he could have put that, but he didn't know what it was, though thankfully she didn't get mad about his suddenness. 

In fact, she just smiled and gestured him to sit. "Well, I know this is odd, but I've been thinking about it, and you need to relax. I know that your suitors and competitors won't come in here, so there's really no better place than here to do it. Remember, anything I do that makes you uncomfortable, just say."

The way she kept repeating that almost had him worried. Almost. "What're you going to do?"

"I'm going to help you relax. First though, you need to sit down. I know you're not a giant, but this will work better if you're comfortable."

Another eyeing followed that little unhelpful comment, but he decided to see. She'd only ever been good to him, and he could hope that it would stay that way. Thus, he sat where she wanted him to and waited, knowing he was tense, but he couldn’t really help that. Even if he did trust her, it wasn't like he'd been in this position before with any good results.

She didn't chide him for it. Instead, she just moved across the room, digging in a drawer and collecting a strip of soft looking purple material. The only thing he could think of was that it had to be some kind of scarf. Puzzled, he just watched her move back to him, studying it and trying to figure out what it was for.

That, at least, became readily obvious when she slowly tied it over his eyes, mindful of his tension, and the way she was doing it seemed to _imply_ that he could tell her to back off… but he didn't. He was, for once, curious what someone of her gender would do instead of petrified that the results would be horrible. 

Holding perfectly still, he listened hard, following her movements as she made the bed dip, the rustle of her dress quiet, but loud in the fact that it was the only noise. She didn't take her hand off his shoulder, where she'd rested it after she'd finished tying the blindfold, but it didn't entirely quell his urge to take off the cloth and look where she'd gone, even if he could feel and hear her right there. 

He didn't admit that he was a bit scared of what she might do. 

"Remember, any time it bothers you, just tell me." It was a murmur from right behind him, and her other hand rested against his back, starting to knead carefully at the tightly tensed muscles. He'd gotten a massage before, so he knew what she was doing, now at least, but it was still hard to relax and let her when his muscles only wanted to protest at being touched. 

Slowly though, as he managed to make places relax, he leaned over his legs, resting his chest on them as more of the tension, massive amounts of it, eased under her hands. It was the most work anyone had put into him, but it didn't seem she was finished, gentle hands nudging him to stretch out on her bed, the darkness of the blindfold leaving him to either just trust in that or to rebel. He chose to trust, remembering intently who this was, and let her continue.

Soothing touches moved over his arms, legs, over his back again, his neck and scalp. After that she had him roll over, through touch, once more without speaking, and she moved her fingers over his feet and hands, then slowly started down along his chest. By the time her hands reached his belly, he was almost asleep, more relaxed than he could ever remember being.

He liked it. He didn't think it would happen again, but he really liked it. 

And when kisses were added to the touches… 

He didn't tense. 

Instead, he just let her show him, because this once, it was okay.

But only this once, because this was Kasumi, and only Kasumi knew him.

Or really even cared to.


	5. July 4th: Chiding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Farfarello and Schuldig clearly didn't quite agree.

Things had been going just like he wanted right up to the point where he felt a blade being pressed against his neck. 

Not to say he was against the kinky stuff. He loved the kinky stuff, it was what made people think the best thoughts sometimes, and that was exactly what he wanted most of the time. Sometimes, terror could be sweet instead of sour, and he loved to be there to savor it.

He didn't, however, like it to be flipped around so that the pointy objects were directed at him while he was having his fun, and he definitely counted having their local neighborhood berserker impaled on him as 'having his fun'. He was also fairly sure that he'd made the man agree that there would be no knives involved if he went ahead with them getting together and him risking the headache of dabbling in the man's mind so he could get the best of it too.

However, mindful of the fact that he picked up the steps that were coming down the hall, he decided to be a little understanding, and thus he kept his voice to a low purr instead of the ticked off growl that it wanted to be. "Farfie, if you don't get that steel off my neck right now, we are not going to be doing this again."

The voice that answered was even lower, and the smile he got did not reassure him. Neither did the increase of pressure that drew just the edge of blood. "You're being loud Guilty One."

Hissing in sharply, he tightened his hands on the pale hips that were in his hands, squeezing even though he knew the man wouldn't feel the pain of it. "Get. It. Off. Me. You know just as well as I do that nobody I don't want seeing us will see us. Or _hear_ us."

The grin grew, and he knew they had come to a standstill. Here, he had a choice. Take the reversed kink of kinky sex, a highly dangerous path, or back out and go home frustrated to high hell.

He decided that he didn't want to go with frustrated, and hey, danger never phased him before, so there was no reason why it should now. Especially in the middle of hot sex. The blade stayed, though the man flipped it over to the flat edge, as a courtesy, and they continued on where they left off, only with him giving the man the façade of control he'd been after. 

Still, they were going to have a very long talk once they were done here.

A very, very long talk.


	6. July 4th: Rebinding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aeris hadn't expected to see Sephiroth and Tifa get along so well.

Sometimes, when she watched her two lovers, she thought that they were really more alike than they really wanted to be. It wasn't, of course, anything to do with appearance. Of the two, she looked more like Sephiroth than Sephiroth looked like Tifa.

And she'd just not think about why that could possibly be. No, instead she'd study their attitudes, the way they reacted to things. Tifa could be selfish, but she was determined, strong, and really, when she'd seen them that morning so many months ago… 

Well, she doubted that Tifa would have let Sephiroth go two steps if she herself hadn't had a tight grip on his wrist and was literally dragging him along after her. It seemed that physical reluctance was more welcome for winning her former girlfriend over than confidence was. At least, that was the way it had been at first.

Just like Cloud had been bitter at Sephiroth, so Tifa had been, though where Tifa had more vitriol at him specifically… Cloud had since resigned himself to the man being in his life, and the only thing he offered was a tense relief that it seemed that she had the man under control. The blond seemed to think it was temporary, but he was, slowly, relaxing. 

She, personally, thought they were being silly to hold on so tightly to the past, but she couldn’t really blame them. When you lost so much because of one person, it usually left a mark, even if that one person didn't value you near so much. 

Now, though. Well, now she had her Tifa and her Sephiroth in one place. One had never died, and the other she'd dragged back with her from the lifestream. Much as she'd come to love him, she just plain didn't trust the thing that had been plaguing him not to somehow re-emerge while she wasn't looking and make him do something stupid again. 

Her only regret was that she hadn't found a way to bring Zack too, then everyone would have been happy with this, but sometimes, there was only so much a girl could manage to do. Though, at the moment she had to admit that she was rather satisfied with what she'd managed to do, especially since she never thought she'd be able to get these two particular lovers to do any better than sharing her. At least without her having to lead them every step of the way.

It seemed she'd been wrong about that, though it wasn't as though that was _bad_ or anything, and she let her eyes roam over the results of skin, long contrasting hair, and lace. There was a lot of lace there too. In fact…

Tifa looked like she was about halfway out of some lacy thing and was having a little trouble. "It works better if he's the one doing the untying you know." 

Her soft words got them both to look at her, and she took that as an invitation to approach, her fingers brushing over the curve of the other woman's chest as she moved to untangle the bow. Sephiroth was the one to talk first, though neither had looked away from her. "She wanted to do it on her own."

"We didn't know you were back yet." That murmur was from Tifa, who was starting to look far too embarrassed about the whole thing. 

She couldn’t have _that_ when they'd been doing so well, not at all. Leaning up, she kissed the other woman full on the lips, managing to get the laces untangled at last before she started to move away, nudging them towards each other. "Oh! My flowers didn't need that much work and they do fine on their own when I'm not there. But don't let me interrupt you two! I'll just be right over here."

Giving them a bright smile, she watched as her man leaned forward and murmured something to her woman, oh it was nice to be able to think like that again, and noted the way that whatever he said got a nod and an interested look.

The next moment, two pairs of rather matched determined expressions turned her way, and she found herself being dragged down with them. Apparently, she too needed to learn the fun in lace.

It was a good thing she didn't mind.


	7. July 6th: Sunlit Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tifa and Aeris were on the same page.

Sometimes, it really hurt to look at Aeris. 

Never when the woman knew she was looking, of course. In fact, if she knew anyone was looking, she would do her very best to be lighthearted for them, happy, chipper even. Those times, of course, the look of her wasn't the kind that tended to inspire heartache.

But… not when she thought she was alone. Like now. 

Aeris, beautiful woman that she was, had her face turned up towards the sun, eyes closed, and she looked unbearably sad. And that… well, the look didn't suit Aeris at all. Still, even though the look of her was disheartening, she didn't want to change it. Not right now. She didn't want to be able to see the falsity behind a smile if the woman were to be disturbed before she was ready. 

So she watched, waited, and knew the exact moment that Aeris chose to admit that she'd noticed her. Her shoulders eased back her posture relaxed, and she turned her head as she opened her eyes to look at her. "You don't have to hide all the way over there you know."

"I know. Aeris…" She paused, having, until the last few days, thought Aeris immune to the perpetual melancholy that permeated so many in the group. Steps light and careful, she moved to the other woman's side. "What could make you look so sad on a day like today?" 

When she looked to her again, she had a quietly thoughtful look on her face. "I was just remembering someone. He was my boyfriend a few years ago… but I haven't seen him in a very long time. Sometimes, bright days like this make me think of him because he really was a very happy person. A very, _very_ happy person."

The emphasis placed on the third very was only highlighted by the wry smile that lit on the other woman's lips, and she couldn't help but giving a small smile back to her. "I don't know, happy people don't tend to want the people they left behind to be constantly sad about them. Not that you are, but I've caught you at this more than once you know."

Her words managed to get a small, soft laugh, and that was enough to ease a tight clench that had built in her chest of late. "No wonder you've been so worried about me. Yes, I've seen that too Tifa. You've seen me, I've seen you, so I think we can stop going around in circles chasing each other's tails that way."

"That way?" She felt herself raising her eyebrows, able to think of very few other ways that could be interpreted and uncertain if it was the right course at all to take to try to lighten the mood. 

"Yes, that way. You do have a very nice tail you know. As long as I'm not chasing it for the wrong thing, I think I'd have a ball doing it." While the earlier sadness wasn't quite gone, it was certainly washed mostly away. It was good to see Aeris' smile when so genuine.

"I suppose I'd be willing to try that. But do you mean the tail that I'm thinking you're meaning now?"

The response was a slight waggle of eyebrows, the last of the sadness flickering away as the smaller woman shifted over, resting a delicate hand firmly and without even a single qualm on the other woman's backside. "Oh, I don't know, which tail did you think I was thinking of?"

Yes, that was certainly straightforward. Which was good, because she had enough people out to confuse her already, and she didn't need more than one. Besides, Aeris' hand felt rather nice right there. "I'm not too terribly sure. Do you suppose we could think of a few other ways to check?"

Hesitating only a moment, she mirrored the gesture on her, a bit more cautious than her green-eyed companion about it, but just as straightforward. "Oh I don't know, I think we have it nicely figured out, don't you?"

And with that, she knew that the sadness had passed. Which just meant that Aeris was in the here and now so she better pay better attention. "Yes, yes I do."

Because if she didn't pay attention, she might miss an important chance… and she really didn't want to do that.


	8. July 7th: From the Inside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vincent hadn't bargained for this side effect. Neither had Cid.

There were times when he could still be surprised. They hadn't been many since he woke with the demons, but they still existed, and he could honestly say that he could appreciate that in comparison to the universe his imagination was fairly limited. 

Still, he had never given consideration to the fact that this was a possible natural reaction to a materia or an item of any kind. In fact, it was something that had never even occurred to him until right this moment. 

It was very odd not having the demons in his head. 

It was also very odd to be so short. 

And, yes, it was exceptionally odd to be hearing his voice from beside him instead of inside him, and he had to shake himself out of his stunned shock to actually look at his body, which seemed just as surprised as he was to be in this situation.

The round of cursing that started confirmed, at last, that yes, there had been a full switch and his lover hadn't gotten lost somewhere in the shuffle. Still. 

This was very, very strange. 

He peered at the item that had gotten them this way, turning it in his hands. He had little idea how this had occurred. Wonderful. There was also something over there he needed to check on. "Do you have company in there still Cid?"

"Do I…" He trailed into silence, and he looked at him patiently as the man screwed up his face in a way he'd never seen before. "Yeah, yeah I got company. Okay, this is freakin weird, can we go back to normal yet?"

"…I'm afraid I'm not certain how we happen to be in this situation."

"You're so helpful there Valentine." Muttering a few more things, which for once he wasn't able to decipher, the man poked at his body, getting up to do gods only know what. 

"Where are you going?"

"To get a damn smoke, that's where." He watched the man stare down at where he was sitting and scowl, obviously uncomfortable with the current arrangement. "Got a problem with that?"

"Yes, actually." He gestured the man to sit, finding it strangely bizarre to be looking at his claw from here, and even more so not to be wearing it himself. He was starting to discover that lacking the demons was… not something he favored any longer. It was a discovery he could have lived without. 

"Why would… right. Your body and all that shit right?" The man scowled as he dropped back down beside him, picking at the belts that crisscrossed his body. "Why the fuck do you wear all these belts? Damn uncomfortable. I thought they were just hard to get you out of, but Gaia's wrath if they're not digging into places that didn't need digging into."

"Are you finished?" He arched an eyebrow at him, waiting patiently for him to finish the tirade, even though it seemed the man had decided to strip him while he waited to be back to normal. That was fine, he didn't really care at the moment and it wasn't like he hadn't seen his body before in the least. 

"Yeah, finished. And don't do that with my face. You have any idea how freaky that look looks on my face?"

"I'm fairly sure I have a good idea by this point, yes." He met his eyes, and Cid coughed a little, clearly wishing he could take that question back.

"Yeah, I bet you do." The not-currently-a-blond turned his head to peer down at the body he was stripping of clothes, since the belts were hardly unattached, and hummed, drawing him to look back to him from the object that caused this issue in the first place. 

"Yes?"

The question prompted the red gaze to dart his way before peering back down again, and he shook his head. "I really don't think I've ever seen you from this angle before, y'know that?"

"You mean from inside my body? Yes, I had had a decent idea about that." His tone was dry, and he settled back against the couch arm where the man had been sitting before this had occurred. 

"No, smartass. I mean what it must like to be you, in this body and whatnot. I never really gave too much of a thought to those demony things in you and now I'm getting a front row look and they're… well, they're not like I think I thought."

"Oh. Well then."

The way he stilled made the man growl, pushing to his feet and stalking to stand in front of him, wearing just in the pants which apparently he hadn't gotten around to getting off yet if the way he was moving was any indication. "Don't you dare angst in my body. I do not want your angst juices all over it and don't think that just because it'll give me a headache later I won't smack you one if you try that. I didn't mean it like that, so just suck it up Valentine."

Blinking, he just slowly shook his head, waiting to see what the man was up to. "Fine. Then what did you mean?"

"I meant that they're more intelligent than I ever gave em credit for. I always thought the smart bits were you, not that they came with their own little smidges. Have I ever told you that you're way too fucking tall? Cause y'are, I feel like I'm going to get land vertigo or some crap."

"Then sit back down Cid." His tone was bland, very bland, but he was also a bit cautious, because the man was getting a look he knew fairly well, even though it was weird to see it like this, from outside. 

"Nah, I got a better idea." Shifting forward, the man straddled him, putting him nose to nose with his own form as he dipped his head, a smirk on his face.

Thank god neither one of them was the type to constantly grin. "You're going to turn this sexual aren't you Cid?"

"Hell yes Vincent. Then later, well, I have plans for later, before I give this body of yours back, but I think we can do with this first, don't you?"

"I suppose…" He tipped his head in a small nod to consent, and found himself being thoroughly kissed a moment later.

He made a note to remind himself to get them back to their bodies before the man could wander off and experiment with flight. But, in the meantime… 

Well, in the meantime, he supposed he would get better acquainted with the man's body from the inside, so he could make the best of it later.


	9. July 7th: Long Term Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aeris saw no reason to worry about Zack's mission.

Zack was a flurry of happiness and color when he came into her church. He wasn't always, nobody could be happy all the time, but today the air of excitement that was around him was almost tangible, and she couldn't help the smile that crossed her face as she got a look at him.

"And what, my dear Zack, has you so excited?" She didn't get up from her gardening, though she did sit back on her heels.

"What, no hello? I could be this happy just to see you y'know." The words were followed by a pout, or at least an attempt at one. His smiles were a bit too hard to restrain for him to pull it off with complete success.

"Well… If you go and put it like that, I can only wonder if you plan on _proposing_ or something like _that_." She knew it wasn't the case, but it was still fun to watch the way he practically tripped over himself at her words. 

He recovered pretty quickly though. "What? No, not yet Aeris. I wouldn't be that off-handed about it! I mean, that should be special, doncha think?" Mostly. 

"Not yet? Well, well, well, someone's making plans."

He blushed, just a little, but flashed her a brilliant grin and didn't deny it. "Wedding plans aren't what I'm so happy about Aeris, stop teasing so I can tell you."

"Oh fine, if you insist…" She dusted off her hands, pushing to her feet to pad over to where he was standing, a small smile on her face. "Tell me the big news."

"I go on a mission in a couple days."

She mostly closed an eye, waited, then eyed his expectant expression further. "And that is significant because…?"

"Because I got both Spike and Seph going with me. At once. You have no idea how long I've been waiting for a chance to get those two on a mission together with me, let alone Spike without his platoon! It's going to be great, even if I will have my work cut out for me!"

He practically bounced on his heels, grinning from ear to ear, clearly hoping for her to be happy for his excitement…

But she found she couldn't be. She smiled, tried to give him what he hoped for, but she felt a quiet dread building in her chest and she had no idea why. "Really? That's wonderful! Where are you going? Somewhere on the beach?"

Her playful words had the intended effect and he laughed, though he was eyeing her a little as he shook his head. "Nah, nothing like that. Spike's hometown, Nibelheim."

The dread flared in a spike of panic, a kind that didn't just come from herself, the planet almost trying to lurch under her feet. Though, that must have just been her because Zack didn't seem to have noticed at all, even if he was looking a little more concerned. "That sounds nice too, mountain town?"

"Yeah… a mountain town. We're just going to be checking things out, dealing with monsters, nothing huge. You okay babe?" His hands had come to rest on her arms, steadying her, and she found she'd sorely needed the contact to settle the sudden unpleasant emotions. 

"I'll be fine sweetie, I'm just going to miss you while you're gone, that's all. Bring me a souvenir?" Her smile was tentative, but he accepted it just the same, leaning down to brush a gentle kiss across her lips.

"Sure thing gorgeous, then we'll see about those proposal ideas of yours, yeah?" His smile, in turn, was brilliant, and he ran his fingers along her jaw.

"Yeah, I think I'd like that, I'd like that a lot."

Then he kissed her again, and she brushed away the irrationality that came with being a Cetra for a while.

No need to worry about maybes, no need at all.


	10. July 8th: Perception

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sephiroth doesn't understand Zack.

Sometimes, it was just too overwhelming being who he was. Those were the times when he desperately wanted to retreat, to walk away and recover himself, but he was rarely given such chances. Instead, his duties pulled him more and more tightly strung, and he knew he was far from the calm visage he took care to present to those in power, the expressionless a precaution taken for the simple reason that all should not know the roil and pitch of his unsteadiness.

A few over the years had been able to successfully tell when he was in such a twisted position. Fewer had found a way to help. 

Zack was one of those few, coming to him as the last of the battles died down, staying close to his side. He helped ward away those that didn't need immediate orders, and they retreated to another area where he could be away from it. He still couldn't relax, of course, but it was clear that the younger man was aware of that. The way he was watching him said he was, and he stayed near, patient, waiting.

"Why do you do this?" It wasn't the first time the man had come with him this way, but it was the first time he'd asked instead of simply taking what he was offered.

The teen dug through a bag near his bedding and padded back to him, simply reaching up and pressing a small oil bottle into his palm, utterly at ease even though deadly tension hadn't fully left him yet and was a risk to the one touching him. "You need somebody Seph. So just… Well, I'll be that somebody." 

That was no real answer. Curling his fingers around the oil, he didn't try to get more clarity out of him, didn't try to convince him that he required a true answer, instead seeking one from his lips as his fingers curled tight in black hair. If one could not be spoken, then perhaps one could be found in the form, the secret that drew the man in uncovered as easily as clothes were removed. 

If not, well… then it was certainly not for lack of trying.


	11. July 9th: Prospects

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rude catches Tseng doing something unusual.

The first time Rude had gotten sidetracked, he had ignored it. The second time, he had discretely followed the man to try and determine what had such importance as to lure the man off when he was in the middle of doing something for the company. That time, he still said nothing, but kept a keen eye on the man after, carefully working through what pattern was between the visits.

The third visit confirmed the span of time between, and the fourth he interceded. Just because he had kept quiet thus far didn't mean that he intended to perpetually. He had just wanted to… confirm some things first. 

The man didn't show his surprise at seeing him, but he hadn't expected him to. The other man was a Turk as well, and it was, unfortunately, entirely possible he'd been spotted before. It rose some interesting questions however as to why the man still was apparently planning to do as he was. "You shouldn't be doing these things on company time."

There was a flash of teeth, the man's rare smile, then he tilted his head, looking at him over his sunglasses. "Going to report me?"

"No." There was a long moment as they studied each other, and then the long haired man looked the direction that the other Turk had been headed. "There are cleaner places."

"Maybe. But more talented?"

Dark eyes met dark eyes, and the lighter skinned of the two let a small, amused smirk touch his lips, though only briefly. "Yes, that too."

"Yeah?"

"Of course."

"How would I get one?"

"You ask, of course." Looking over his shoulder as he turned from the other, he shook his head. "How else."

"That mean you plan to help me, Tseng?"

The words prompted a noncommittal hum, and then the man started to walk away. "Perhaps, but not on company time."

Rude didn't reply, but he knew he would see the man again later in the evening. That meant, of course, that he needed to have his tattoo supplies ready.

He hadn't lied after all, there _were_ cleaner, more talented artists than the one the man had been visiting.

He just hadn't bothered to mention that he meant himself.


	12. July 10th: Interference

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cloud didn't know the Voice was named Zack.

The voice was often with him, present in a way that implied ghosts and spirits just enough that he knew better than to mention it to his friends. He was the only one that seemed to hear when the voice spoke, and he was completely sure he was the only one who noticed when the voice touched, so it was better not to make the rest worry more about his sanity than they likely already did.

Not to say he was crazy, he was pretty sure he wasn't, but it was a generally accepted fact that hearing voices wasn't really something anyone would encourage. Because of that, he didn't tell anyone, since this particular voice, well, it never got him to do anything _bad_. Without it, he was pretty sure he would have been dead by now even, so it was a good thing he had it. 

Even if he didn't know where it came from or why.

-o-o-o-

Zack combed his fingers through blond hair, a sad little smile crossing his face when the man tipped into his touch, but only before he seemed to realize that doing that would dislodge the sensation entirely and stilled.

Yeah, he knew he was there, even if, from what he could tell, he'd never figured out who he was. 

_Hey you. Finally taking a break for once?_ He had to wait for an answer, of course, blue eyes looking here and there slowly before the tension seeped out of his frame.

They were alone. "We don't have any leads right now, and the only thing I can do is wait with the birds."

_I guess that's true. Planning on just laying around all day then?_

"I already practiced some this morning, so… yeah, pretty much." He watched as blue eyes closed, then shook his head. "I haven't got anything better to do."

After a long moment of silence, he felt his smile grow into a grin. _I can think of something._

-o-o-o-

He opened his eyes even though he knew that he wouldn't see anyone there, feeling comfortable, but still glad that there was nobody around to watch him talk to himself. "Like what?"

 _Do you trust me?_ The not-touch of a touch moved over his shoulders, and the question itself made him almost want to laugh. If only the voice was better able to read his mind.

"Of course I do! So… like what?"

He felt more of the not touch, though, over the material. _First off… you're overdressed for my idea. Still game?_

"Only if it doesn’t involve leaving the room."

 _It doesn't._ There was a laugh in the voice this time, and he felt a little smile touch his lips at the sound. _So, clothes?_

"Yeah, sure, sure. We're not getting me naked to have me do something stupid are we?" He sat up so he could get his clothes off, shoulders, then belt, then shirt, boots, leaving pants and underwear for last.

The voice remained quiet until he was almost completely undressed. _Nah, you'll like it, promise._

"And if it turns out I don't?" He was joking, of course, since he was pretty sure, by now, that what this was wasn't going to be anything too out there. If anything, he was starting to head off _that_ direction in his imaginings. 

_Well, if you don't then I guess we have to try harder, don't we?_

Definitely thinking off in that direction. Once he was undressed, he dropped back onto the covers and stretched out. "Alright, I'm naked. Now what?"

-o-o-o-

He let his eyes roam, biting his lip and wishing, intensely, that he could do this the right way. He couldn't, sadly, but he could do this, and they'd both get something good out of it. Fingers ghosting over the blond's chest, his sides, and back up, he took a moment to admire the way the guy had grown up.

He'd never really taken it in before he died, but since then he had. Gods, but he had. _Now? Hmmm. Can you feel anything on you?_

The silence was long, and he knew he'd crossed a line, but he didn't take it back, waiting, fingers resting on the man's chest. In the end, the blond didn't answer verbally, just moving his hands to rest over, inside, of his, closing his eyes again. "So, what were we doing?" 

Relaxing from a tightly coiled tension that had woven through him in waiting, he slowly moved his fingers, watching as Cloud followed them with his palms. _We're going to make you feel good. Sound like a plan?_

He wasn't sure how his tone must have come across, but there was a hitch in the man's steady breathing. "Yeah. Yeah, a really good plan."

_Then just… follow my lead._

-o-o-o-

The words were softer, deeper. Was the voice getting something out of this? 

The idea was instinctively appealing, and he didn't ask what the other meant. He knew, and he let his hands slide along his own chest in the wake of the phantom not-touch, slow pressure as he focused more on the other than himself, which, strangely, made the feeling that much more… intense. 

When his fingers reached his erection, he was almost startled, but not, eyes flitting open, half expecting the touch on him to not be his own, but he turned his attention away again, not wanting to break the illusion.

 _Move your hand._ A murmur, and he did as told, letting his eyes flit shut as he just focused on that. He knew what felt good in this, for the most part, but those things weren't following the low directions of harder, slowly, like this, like that. 

In the end, the demanded changes were too much and he stopped trying to follow them, fingers moving hard and quick, breathing shaky as he topped himself off. Only when he started to come down did he realize that at some point he'd gotten his second hand between his legs too, and he uncurled his fingers from the small squeeze. 

Apparently, it hadn't really helped him control himself any, but gods, the voice was right. He'd definitely liked it. 

He just wished he knew how to return the favor. Though… 

Something said he already had.


	13. July 10th: Outed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nabiki was done with this P-chan bullshit.

The argument was picking up as it tended to, Ryouga clutched to Akane's chest protectively as Ranma helplessly tried to get it across that he wasn't doing a thing wrong when he'd tried to kick 'P-chan' out of her room. Akane, of course, was having none of it, stubbornly fussing over the little creature as her fiancé tried to figure out how to make his point without giving away any secrets.

In all, it was a sadly typical situation in this household, and Nabiki had had just about enough of it. Her sister could be stupid sometimes, and it was her prerogative if she wanted to sleep with a pig, but she was _not_ going to let her sister give Ranma bruises a few hours before a performance. Not that Akane knew about that, but that wasn't the point.

Moving forward, she did what she should have done months ago and doused all three of them with heated water. "Figure it out."

Stunned silence was left in the woman's wake, the two boys looking at each other as Akane's grip went lax in shock and Ryouga landed on the ground with a dull thud. 

While Ryouga usually tried not to believe in Akane's temper, he knew it existed, and the way the girl's mouth was working and her face was turning red did not bode well for either of them. But… she didn't yell. No, her voice was deadly soft. "Ryouga? P-chan is _Ryouga_?!"

The tone was still enough to send the boy on the ground skittering backwards, knowing he had no defense for being in disguise for so long without saying anything. He knew her view on perverts, he just never thought that it might possibly be turned on him. While slow sometimes, he wasn't stupid, and she was furious. Ranma didn't say anything either, hesitating to speak when he wasn't, yet, the target of her wrath.

"All this time… Ryouga, how _could_ you? You, you, you _pervert!_ You've seen me naked! I hugged you in my sleep! And you're a _man_?!"

Her volume slowly rose, and Ryouga's back hit a wall. He didn't want to go through the wall, as he sensed that would make things much, much worse, but thankfully her focus moved from him to Ranma.

"And you! You _knew_ didn't you?! The two of you spent all this time scheming together against me, didn't you? Didn't you?! That's why you two are getting so friendly all of a sudden, you two were trying to figure out how to humiliate me with this!"

Her fists were clenched, but Ryouga took a deep breath, not having had the fear of her beaten into him like the blue-eyed boy had. Ranma looked… hurt. That was unnerving, and since they'd resolved their issues, he'd been paying more attention, so he was pretty sure it wasn't a look he'd seen recently. "No, we weren't Akane."

Her gaze whipped to him instantly, hands flexing in agitation at her sides. "Why should I believe you? You're a liar!"

The lost boy cut in to draw attention back to himself. He had to speak up for himself, at least this once. "No, he's not. I'm not either, I'm just a coward." He pushed himself up the wall, glancing hesitantly to Ranma before looking to Akane again. "I was scared to tell you I was P-chan."

"Then why have you and Ranma been sneaking around, huh? Why've you been whispering to each other all the time? Don't even say you haven't been, I've _seen_ you!"

"…It's not about you Akane." Ranma's voice was quiet, and when she looked at him again, he didn't twitch, just meeting her furious stare. "What we talk about… it isn't you. It doesn't have anything to do with you."

"Then what's it about, huh?"

"We used to be friends once. Before. We're working on being real friends again, okay? It doesn't have anything to do with you. It has to do with us. It doesn't have anything to do with _this_."

She shook, showing impressive restraint in the fact that she hadn't tried to physically attack either of them. That could have been because she couldn’t decide who she wanted to hurt more, or because she genuinely had learned not to do it. Neither could really tell. "Why didn't you tell me then Ranma? You can't tell me you didn't know! You must have known all this time! It's why you always hated P-chan, isn't it?!"

He braced, then took a deep breath and shook his head. "I promised I wouldn't say anything."

She stared at him, trembling a little. "You promised? You let him spy on me, when you knew, and it was all because you promised? What about me Ranma? How could you do that to me?"

Ryouga stared at her, a bit stunned that she would even think to go in that direction. Couldn't she see how the guy took his honor seriously? It's what caused the problems between him and the other teen in the first place! "He made a promise Akane."

She turned back to him, eyes watering a bit, and took a deep breath. "You _lied_ to me. You both lied to me and you did it on purpose! Perverted bastards!"

"We didn't lie Akane! We just… we just didn’t tell you, that’s all!" Ryouga stared at her despondently and shook his head. "That's all, I swear."

"You swear? You swear?!" She shook her head hard and looked back to Ranma, then to Ryouga again before turning her back on them both. "You should have told me." Taking a deep breath, she shook her head again, voice having quieted significantly. "I'm going to be in my room."

She left then, and the two boys looked at each other a bit helplessly.

How could they go about fixing this now? Everything had finally, finally started to calm down, and now this? Ryouga had thought they were both thinking that… but it apparently wasn't the case. 

Ranma reached out and caught the lost boy's wrist before starting down the hall. "Well, we can't just stand here. C'mon."

"Ranma? What…?"

"She keeps calling us perverts, right? Says we were scheming. Well, we weren't. She wants a pervert. Maybe if we go and you tell her, really tell her, that you like her uncute self, then maybe she'll forgive you."

"And what about you?"

The blue eyed boy shook his head. "We'll figure that part out later. You just get her unmad at you first. Then we'll work on the rest, got it?"

There was a hesitance, then the lost boy laced his fingers through the other teen's. "Yeah, sure. Whatever works I guess."

Decision made, Ranma knocked on the door. Come what may, they would get this worked out, once and for all.

If the outcome was more stunning than expected… good.

And if it hurt... Well, nothing new there.


	14. July 12th: Talks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reno was far too curious what Tseng meant.

"Y'know, you're way too uptight to be any fun." He looked over at the composed figure next to him and scowled a little. The guy didn't even look soused and he'd been keeping pace with him, drink for drink, the whole night. 

"I have my own idea of fun. If I thought you would stay conscious, I'd offer to show you." Dark eyes met his, and he snorted.

"Not into torture and torment buddy. I meant good, wholesome fun yo. Like sex." His wave was a little lopsided as he gestured at the man's body, but he was pretty sure his smirk wasn't. 

"I meant off-hours fun Reno." The man quirked his lips, just a little, and the look seemed pretty damn evil from where he was sitting. And sexy, definitely sexy. Then the damn man sipped his drink again. "Sex would count in that spectrum."

He eyed the man. Just because he was a little tipsy, okay, a lot tipsy, didn't mean he'd miss someone flirting with him. "You mean to say you'd have sex with me boss? Cause it'd be real cruel if you were jokin around."

There was that smirk again. Oh damn, he was starting to think that thing was a good sign. "Maybe. But you'd have to be willing to let me be a little odd."

"Hey, I'm game as long as you're not cutting anything off or doing anything mean to my privates. No scarrin either bub, I got enough of that."

The man studied him, then got up to move deeper into the apartment, getting something out of a drawer on his way by. "Fair enough."

"Hey! Where you goin?" He straightened up, pushing to his feet to try to get used to the way the world was currently tilted so he could follow. Only with another Turk could he ever consider getting this soused. 

"I'm going to light my candles."

Staring incredulously after the man, he finally started to walk. Hey, that kind of kinky he didn't mind. Now, just to prove he could keep up. 

And to see just what those candles were going to be used for.


	15. July 12th: Teensy Mistake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cloud didn't usually need to rescue Zack.

He couldn't believe this. Of all the things that the man could have done, he'd gotten tangled up in a family dispute. Someone clearly needed to read better, because there were some pretty clear lines that stated that a person didn't do that in this area. Now, the man needed him to come to the rescue, and that alone, while normally an amusing idea, was currently making him want to groan.

Having carefully picked his way around the arguing parties, he discovered that their method of getting Zack out of their way, by communal census, had been to push him into a pit and lock a lid over it. In which they'd left the man when they'd returned to their homes an hour before.

How they'd managed to get the man down there in the first place, he didn't want to know, but currently he was having to deal with the interesting problem of getting the stupid thing unlocked. Crouched on the ground, alert to the idea of being snuck up on, he fiddled with the lock, noting with some worry that Zack hadn't started to talk after he'd gotten there.

It wasn't a good sign.

The click, when the lock finally disengaged, was really far louder than he expected it to be, making him twitch as his gaze darted around the area. Seeing nothing, he turned his attention back downwards, levering up the solid metal grate with care even though it made a louder whine of noise than he really wanted to think about. 

Ignoring the way he felt like he had a target painted on his back, he leaned over the pit and raised his voice just a little. "Zack, you okay?"

There was a rustle of cloth, then a groan. "M'alive. Move some so I can get out of here."

Hesitating at the strained quality of the man's voice, he eased to the side to give him the requested space, guessing correctly that the man was planning on jumping up. He had to grab him to keep him from falling back in. "What happened?"

"They slammed the grate on me when I tried to jump back out earlier." He grimaced, giving him a lopsided grin, and leaned heavily into his side. "So my head kinda hurts."

"Zack… Only you could only manage to get captured by villagers like that. What did you do?" He eased them both up to their feet, starting back towards their room with careful steps until Zack started walking quasi-normally again.

"Ah… just offered an alternative to the fighting, nothing too major."

"Just like you knew you weren't supposed to."

"Yeah, just like that. But it's not so bad. We're gonna have to leave in the morning, that's all."

"Not even in the morning, I'm pretty sure they plan to feed you. I already talked to some of the other troops, we're all packed up."

"Does that mean you're not going to take the time to kiss me all better?"

"…Later. I'll do it later. _After_ you've thought about what you did wrong."

"Promise?"

"Okay, promise, but you just be glad I like you."

"Love you too, Spike."

The blond didn't say anything back to that, instead just hiding his blush as he settled the man to sit so he could pack up the rest of their stuff. 

He could think about that later too.


	16. July 12th: Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zack was surprised, but not displeased by this.

He had no clue how Spike had gotten the man into that position, but he really, really appreciated that he had. Seph was stretched out on his back, buck naked with his arms up over his head, one hand resting in the other with what looked like a binding keeping them there. He wasn't sure what kind of binding it was, but it was hard to tell with the way the man was braced, legs wide, feet planted, hands pressed deep into the pillows as he arched his back. That position, in and of itself, was unusual.

The fact that Seph had his throat bared, even if the blond was nowhere near it, was another thing that was unusual. Said blond was only in his pants, which were barely hanging on, and was curled over his knees as he did something to the other man with both hands and mouth that were drawing the most interesting little sounds. Not loud ones, of course, gods forbid Seph be loud in bed, but it was definitely more than someone would usually get out of the man without a good hour or more of effort.

So, that begged the question, just how long had Cloud had the man there, how had he done it, and why oh why hadn't he called him to let him know what would be waiting for him if he came to pay Seph a visit tonight, or rather, when he would, since it wasn't like they didn't know he was going to be here eventually? It was practically part of his routine. 

Or maybe they'd just gotten a little distracted and had forgotten he was coming over?

He could believe that, he was already getting distracted just watching, and really, seriously, he should be at least a teensy bit jealous… for some reason. 

What that reason was was escaping him, but he knew there was one.

Which he'd figure out.

Later.


	17. July 14th: Lady Sworn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beatrix loved her Queen.

Ultimately, at heart, she was her queen's General. Because of this, she could not be one who had the urge to surrender, and definitely not one with the disposition for it. That was the Queen's place in this room. She needed that, the chance to be weak when not before her subjects, and she, being the queen's lady, knew it well. 

Running a hand up pale curves, she stroked the other woman's belly, watching the way the muscles jumped under the contact, knowing her touch was too light to truly be satisfying. That was the purpose of it.

Her other hand was no better, rubbing ever so lightly against sensitive damp places that were, if anything, more reactive than the rest of the woman. Her lovely queen, so much more an honor to serve than the woman before her, so much more beautiful, lay spread and exposed, clutching the covers, eyes tightly closed.

She never wondered why her queen so often blocked out the sight of her, but she didn't mind. It made the woman more uninhibited, gasps and groans much less self-conscious than they were when she tried to watch the one touching her. 

It made her more apt to beg as well, and she let a small smile flit over her lips as she leaned, pressing a kiss to the soft skin of the other woman's hip. "My Queen, Garnet, what was it you had to say?"

As her soft pink tongue darted to wet dry lips, the woman tried again, forming something coherent from the earlier whines, twitching up to the touch low on her body. "Please. Please more, Beatrix. Please."

"Of course my Queen." Eyes staying on the woman's face, that expression of need, she kissed lower. She would, of course, give her as she asked.

But. 

Only because she asked.


	18. July 14th: Resolution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Martel was frustrated with Greed.

Greed had been after her for months. She knew it, and he knew it, and between the two of them, she had to say that she had shown more patience in terms of waiting. 

He kept pushing, nudging here and there, hoping she'd give gracefully to what he wanted out of her. Which was pretty much everything. Sometimes, that was perfectly okay. She fought for him, had sex with him, would give her life for him, but she wouldn't give up the last bits of who she was for him.

It had taken too much time and pain to figure it out in the first place, so she could hardly afford to lose it now. Even if he was a solid person who seemed incapable of dying. She couldn't afford to leave everything she was in his hands, and she couldn't afford to let him control her in all ways.

Enough was enough. It wouldn't be taking anything from him, she knew it wouldn't, so there wouldn't be a fight, but it would prove to her, if not to him, that she wasn't lost in him and his all-encompassing wants.

The night started out the way that it usually did, with him slipping into her room without bothering to ask permission. In the beginning, he'd asked, but he'd quickly lost the habit when she gave him a standing invitation. Sometimes, she regretted having done that. Now, it was fine.

Now he was here, stroking her back, silently asking, demanding she give what he wanted. But she didn't react the way she usually did. She didn't passively yield in the cold-blooded way she found so easy these days. There was no lazy hiss and allowance. Instead, she tackled him, taking the initiative, demanding kisses as she pushed at his ever-present vest.

It was movement, constant, hard, intense, and it still wasn't right. 

She needed something else, and that made her pause, looking down at him where he was naked beneath her, skin flawless even though she was sure she'd used teeth on him while they'd been tumbling.

He was waiting, violet eyes watching, intense, the black slit almost round in one of two fairly obvious signs of arousal. Three, if she wanted to admit she could taste it in the air. 

This was not the way she needed to do this. 

Frowning at him, just the tiniest bit, she flexed her hand, reaching down between his legs to press her fingers against where there would be an opening on any normal man. On him, there wasn't. At least, there wasn't one that she could immediately find, hard shield the only thing in place. 

"I know you have one sometimes Greed."

Her murmur was rougher than intended, and he flashed her a shark's grin, all sharp teeth and good intentioned amusement. "What could you possibly need back there?" 

She narrowed her eyes, drawing a laugh out of him, and suddenly there was give under her curved fingers, yield. 

When she narrowed her eyes further, his smile turned to a smirk, hips twitching in a small roll to press the fingertips into him. "Go ahead Martel. You wanted to show me who's boss, right?" 

At that point, she realized that it was already too late to salvage anything. Still, that didn't mean she had no control here. 

She did, and she had a chance to use it. A chance she more than took advantage of. 

After all, there was no telling when the man would be in this mood again, though it was a certainty that he would be. 

He was Greed after all, and if there was one thing she'd learned in the last months, it was that Greed never stopped wanting. 

That included things that might well not be good for him in the end.


	19. July 15th: Personal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reno was baffled why he was the one putting Rufus in his place.

"I'm not gonna be your whore y'know." The comment was almost casual, and the Turk took a good look at his boss, the spoiled kid he'd ended up taking care of through a hell of a lot. Guy who had turned into a smart, vicious, and gorgeous man.

It hadn't put a dent in the spoiled part. He didn't mind too much normally, but there were times he had to wonder what the boss was thinking in that blond haired skull of his. Yeah, he was a Turk. And, yeah, he always would be. But that didn't mean the guy could tell him to do just about anything and he'd snap to. He wasn't _that_ kind of employee.

No, he was the guy you called in to wreak a little havoc, to ruin a couple lives. He was the guy who had fun being destructive. He was not the guy you called in when you wanted to get a seduction into a kill, or to bandy around a point to get some favors. 

Somewhere along the line, it seemed that his spoiled boss man hadn't gotten that little fact through his head. The man even seemed to be going with the idea that he might change his mind just because of the look he was giving him. "Seriously boss, what gave you the idea this was a good one anyway? I'm a force of nature yo, not some poodle on a leash."

He spread his arms out, a sharp gesture meant to make it obvious the man should see what he meant. He could only shake his head when Rufus went and looked displeased at him. He had to have a point if the guy wasn't talking though. Usually, the guy was full up on words, ready to let loose at the smallest sign of disagreement.

That meant that the Pres had to know he wouldn't like this, wouldn't take it, and he had to wonder why the hell he'd bothered and wasted time on either side of their track.

The silence drew out, his fingers twitching and moving to shove red locks out of his face as he waited, watching gray eyes as gray eyes watched him. "Maybe I just wanted to see if you would obey me, Reno."

"That's it? You felt like it?" He paused, seeing the small nod. "And you'd have had me go all the way, wouldn't you?" 

The morbid sweet smile was all the answer he got, and he just shook his head. 

His boss seriously needed to respect his Turks. 

If nobody else would think to teach the man, then it looked like the task was left to him.

He wouldn't be a whore for the man, but that never meant that he had any issues with using sex as a weapon… as long as it stayed personal.


	20. July 17th: Balance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sephiroth loves his blade.

No matter what mother promised, no matter what vengeances were to be carried out in her name, no matter what it was that he did for her, it was not his. Shinra had been the same. He had been their weapon, their trophy, and had been perfect in the fact that he could kill and lead and never lose composure. He had to be the perfect image of what was asked of him to both of these driving forces, just as Hojo, in his childhood, had expected the same and nothing less.

It was tiring to be for others only, and no matter how much he loved his mother, had respected Shinra, or had even feared Hojo once, he had always needed something of his own.

For a long time, he had lacked any such something.

And then he had been given Masamune. The long steel had been a cold, sharp comfort, too large to wield when he had been twelve. She was the first weapon he had received that had not been taken away again, and she was also a gift that had plainly been a taunt, something to indicate that while there, he was never expected to perfect her use. 

He had, in time, defied that taunt, and now she was his companion, more constant than his mother, less demanding than Shinra, and never frightening as Hojo had been. She had no control over his actions, and would only be wielded by he and he alone. Others had tried, of course, but they had not succeeded in mastering the perfect balance required to keep them alive in a battle. 

She was his perfect blade, his perfect companion, and he had his ways to ensure that such would never change.

After all, even death hadn’t stolen her from him.


	21. July 18th: Exuberance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quatre didn't mean to do that.

There was a curse from behind him as his lover finally started to ease away from his body, both of them still breathing hard, but he didn’t think that was cause to curse. Especially not considering how composed the older man usually was, so he blinked, twisting a bit to see what could have gotten the man to react that way. “Zechs?”

A callused hand rested on his backside to still him. “Please don’t move, I think your knee is on my hair.”

He felt a tug under his leg, confirming that was what happened, then watched as the silvery blond strands slid from his line of vision. He hadn’t realized he’d been that caught up in things, but the man had such pure emotions that sometimes just he got a little carried away. 

It didn’t mean he wanted to accidentally bald the man while he was doing nice things with his tongue though. He knew most people wouldn’t be willing to do something like that, freshly showered or not. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, yes, fine, my scalp is just a little tender now.” There was a rustling sound, then his lover moved from behind him to stretch out at his side, meeting his eyes easily. “I’m going to take it as a compliment.”

“Still...” He just shook his head and leaned over to kiss him. Zechs wouldn’t let him apologize for enjoying himself, which was just as well. If he apologized too much, after all, the man might decide not to do it anymore.

Really, the man was just too good with his mouth for him to go and risk that.


	22. July 19th: Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vincent didn't like being rescued.

Well, that could have gone better. The battle hadn’t been expected, but a person couldn’t really put a leash on the wild things. Not even the wild things that shouldn’t be around in the first place. Vincent the idiot Valentine had taken it on himself to tackle the critter, and it just plain hadn’t turned out well. 

It likely would have, but the man hadn’t spotted the other one, the bigger of the two out there, and had gotten himself knocked cold before he could do more than put a couple bullet holes in the one he’d been gearing for. 

He’d been pouting since he realized he’d had to get his pretty ass rescued.

Honestly, just cause the guy had those demons of his and some training didn’t mean he was invincible. In fact, it made him just that smidgen way too confident, and lookit him now, sulking by the window like he’d failed the world. Man wasn’t the only one in the area who could save a life, and he needed to get that idea through his thick skull.

“Valentine, quit foggin up my window and get your ass over here.”

That got him looked at, and the man sighed in a way he could only call dramatically put upon. Even so, he settled his tush on the chair across from him like he’d been told.

“Better. Now drink the tea I made ya.”

Instead of picking it up as instructed, he peered down into it as though looking for answers to all things wrong in the universe. “I shouldn’t have had any issues out there today.”

“Well, you did. What’s your point?”

“I could have gotten someone killed Cid.”

“You didn’t. In fact, the closest to dead you got anyone was you, so just quit your pouting and drink the damn tea before it gets cold. It’ll make you feel better.”

Another aggrieved sigh was his only verbal reply, but the man took a sip of his tea just the same, and he could have sworn he saw a flicker of a smile.

Even if he hadn’t, that didn’t mean it wasn’t there, and at least now he didn’t have to worry about moping. 

Or pouting, or any of those other stupid Valentine things.

No, right now he just had to worry about his tea, and that was just fine with him.


	23. July 22nd: Imperfect Specimen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hojo liked cleaner results.

There were times when he was pleasantly surprised by the way his experiments turned, the unexpected results often shocking, but not upsetting. There were times when the rewards of an uncharted experiment would leave him breathless in anticipation for what it would do next. There were also times when he regretted having set something aside, being fully aware it would be a rather long while before he could return to his examination.

It was very easy to say that now was not one of those times. 

In fact, if anything, Valentine was even more displeasing now than before Lucretia had started to toy with the man’s body. The unpredictability he had had even before his death was enhanced, making it annoyingly difficult to pin down the new patterns in his behavior.

The only positive of the entire thing was the experiment itself. The demons, he had found, could not regenerate perfect limbs for the specimen, nor could they permanently alter his current form. The skin did not tan, burns did not scar, and breathing returned on its own if stopped. He’d even taken time to see if not feeding or watering the man would do anything at all. All it had done was send him into a deep sleep. One which he had _thought_ would be to his benefit.

The last thing he’d expected to have happen when starting the tests was for the man to rear up and lash at him with claws that he didn't put there, nor to trip him up with a tail he normally did not have. 

It was magnificent, the demon being merged with the man as seamlessly as it was, but that didn’t mean that he’d intended to get such a close examination with the other party awake. He did not like the idea of the demon having decided to... establish itself either, and had gone for his tranquilizers.

Sadly, they had been knocked from his hand a moment before, and the struggle had come to a brief standstill, his eyes locked on the gold of the other as he hissed down at him ferally, nothing of the normal intelligence in sight.

The rip of cloth made him wrinkle his nose, and he just knew he was going to have to sterilize himself once he managed to get away from the specimen.

No, this was definitely not one of those times where the unexpected pleased him. 

Not in the least.


	24. July 23rd: Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brad liked his privacy and Schuldig was being... himself.

Schuldig was a telepath, a very talented one, but this was hardly a point that had ever given him concern for his own safety. His shields were pristine, his talent making it near impossible for one to crawl into his skull without being led or without it being rather painful for them both. 

In essence, he had believed that this particular secret was safe. 

It seems that he had been wrong. 

Very wrong. 

“Braddikins! You will never guess what I found out about you today!”

“I have no desire to find out what you discovered today Schuldig.”

Blue eyes got between him and the page he was looking at as his chair was turned around, and a flash of a grin was the only other impression he had of the maneuver before hands were at his fly, orange hair dominating his field of vision. “I heard you had girl parts Braddikins. Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen breasts on you, and I just _know_ I’ve seen a dick down here.”

“That would be because I’m a man.” He kept his composure, lifting a foot and using it to shove his subordinate back enough to give him breathing room. “You’ve had intimate experience with my masculinity in fact, I don’t see how it’s suddenly in question.”

“Brad, unless you have a sister, I’m pretty sure that pretty girl was you. And I heard a little something about a mutation so fess up.”

“I’m too busy for this nonsense right now Schuldig.”

“Can I see?”

“There’s nothing _to_ see.”

“C’mon Brad, we both know that you’re hiding something, you haven’t denied it.”

He said nothing, glaring down at the man at his feet for long moments. Finally, he sighed. “I’m only doing this once.”

The redhead smirked in a way that challenged that statement, but he decided that if this got out hand, he really had nobody to blame but himself.

He should have been more meticulous about his childhood.


	25. July 26th: Rumors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riza's position lets her see the war from another angle.

She knew the rumors that circulated around the man. He wasn’t sane. Keep out of his reach. Watch him on the battlefield. Make sure you don’t get caught in his crossfire, he wouldn’t care. 

She knew that they weren’t false rumors, but she also knew they weren’t entirely accurate. At least, they hadn’t been, not until the night before. She’d watched him on the field, watched his careful carefree killing turn into something else, something possessed. She watched him turn from man to thing from her sniper’s position on the field, and she could do nothing but give warning to the others to clear his path, get out of the city. 

He wasn’t like Roy. He wasn’t afraid of the power he wielded. It meant that he needed no protector. It also meant that he was alone with his destruction, and it was a courtship that was far from healthy.

It seemed none of the others would approach him, so that left her. He wasn’t a good man, she knew that, but he also wasn’t a stupid man. No truly stupid man could ever become a State Alchemist, no matter how powerful they happened to be.

She wisely didn’t ask if he enjoyed it. That much, at least, was plainly obvious. No, instead she asked him a more relevant question. “Do you have control?”

The answer was silence, consideration, and then a laugh. It was a soft, almost chiding sound, his gold eyes meeting her brown for just a moment before he turned and walked away from her. “Of course.”

From then, the violent unpredictability on the field changed, wavering between pure abandon and something else. Something too much like art for her stomach to handle. A loss of control she could understand, welcome even, but not the plain show that he did it on purpose.

It made her thankful, in a way, that she would likely never have to deal with the man again once the war was past. It did not, however, give her leave to accept well enough and let it be while she was still here.

Her questions were different, and this time he didn’t walk away. “Do you care about the cause behind this war?”

Instead, he faced her and smiled, Cheshire and pleased. “No.”

“Do you even care about the lives of the people on your side?”

“Of course not.”

“Why?”

“They’re all going to die anyway.”

“Even me Kimbley?”

He moved forward, brushed his palm along her cheek before quirking his lips, a knowing light in his gaze. “Especially you. You play with fire.” 

She twitched away from the touch, glaring at him for even daring to invade her space, but he just smirked, stepping back as he let his hand drop away. 

“Playing with fire is dangerous for people who don’t know what they’re doing Hawkeye. Remember that for me.”

She gave him no real answer, continuing to glare before she spun on her heel and left him standing there, the too knowing smile on his face making her skin crawl. 

She wouldn’t ask him any more questions, and she had to wonder what she thought she would accomplish in the first place. 

Whatever it was, she certainly hadn’t managed it.


	26. July 27th: Event Horizon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sephiroth knew Cloud's desires.

There were times when he truly considered the idea of finishing things. He had the ability, the touch on that place that he never did truly let go of, to do as he pleased. Yet he refrained. He watched, he lingered. 

He did not make the man aware. Time passed in silence and he watched the man grow, become more a man than yesteryear ever allowed him. He watched him become more whole, yet still, still things were missing. He presented a front that did not exist, and none knew it but the two of them, and of the two of them, only he was willing to see it for what it was.

Denial. 

The other liked to think he was finally happy, but the discontent lingered under the surface, the unhappiness and feeling of constriction never faded. The man went on trips, he left his new home constantly, and yet he still called himself content? 

Had he been, he would not have wanted to leave, would have been happy, he knew that much well.

He knew Cloud well, for Cloud was a small piece of him in the world.

Reaching out, fingers brushing the still pool of the man’s memories, his dreams, he let himself through. He slipped into that place where dream and reality were no longer distinct, and he made a niche. Or, rather, he re-established the niche.

There was no fight there. There had never been a fight for there, and it was terribly easy to slip to a place within the man, still a boy in many ways, and face him in a manner that would be recognized as existing. Between awake and sleep, a dream but not a dream. 

The man was there already, of course. He was willingly in that place, waiting for him without admitting he was waiting for him, and he turned his back as soon as he saw him, as though unwilling to admit he was truly there. 

“Such games. Why do you always turn from me when you see me Cloud? I could not be here if you didn’t want to be in my presence.”

He ghosted forward, ran fingers down the man’s back, and the rigid tension in the slender frame just coiled, blue eyes shooting him that glare that only he seemed to ever earn. “You aren’t real. You’re just something I need to get over. A memory.”

The blond didn’t move away, never moved away, and he chuckled softly, lowly, as he leaned in to press a kiss to a shoulder, smirking. “A memory? Cloud, were you thinking you just dreamed me up? I’m not. I’m as real as you.” When the blond stilled entirely, he tisked, pressing a kiss to the side of the man’s neck, fingers coming to rest on his forearms. “Or, perhaps, is that the problem?”

The stillness persisted for another beat, then the man twisted, pulled from his grip with a viciousness that he well knew how to appreciate, and answered. “Don’t touch me.”

“So it is. All this time and you still don’t know you’re real, do you Cloud? You still don’t know that you’ve landed far from the memories of others. Do you?” The blond snarled, as he’d expected he would, but he didn’t back away, merely looking up at him as he slipped close again, rested his hands back on his arms. “Do you want me to reassure you Cloud? Is that what you’re waiting for?”

“I’m not waiting for anything Sephiroth.” Such a fierce _fierce_ glare... and it was so very obvious that it was nothing but a habit, the feelings behind it worn back to sharpness that had since lost their original meanings. 

“No?”

“No. Let go of me.”

The words were not followed by actions, the demand lacking a consistency of insistence that would make it believable. Chiding him without words, shaking his head, he leaned in to kiss, finding nothing but teeth and snarls. He did not, however, find resistance, hands that should have been pushing him away clutching tight in his hair.

The blond may tell him to let him go, but truly, he could have a very long time ago... Had he not been held tightly in turn, his presence needed to make this shell of a creature feel he was worth anything.

It was a position he did not mind being in, so he kissed, bit, growled in turn. He let the intimacy be a fight, let the man bruise and be bruised in this space, knowing the marks would appear and linger in the realm of the physical. 

He let the man pretend it wasn’t real while knowing it was, and he let the man be who he was. It was the only place where Cloud could ever be who he was and they both knew that.

Subservient, weak, lost, broken. He knew how to appreciate those attributes, how to use them, and he did. He gave the man exactly what he wanted by taking everything.

So long as he never crossed the line from here to there, the blond would always crave this. When this was no longer enough, then, and only then, would he cross back into the physical realm.

At that time, he knew, he would be greeted, finally, with open arms.

In the meantime, however, he had this, possessed the man’s soul. 

He merely had to wait for his heart to follow.


	27. July 28th: Time and Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cloud is thoughtful.

There were places and times for everything, but he had honestly never thought that there would be either for this. Then again, he’d never expected to get so close to the man, the legend, that was the General. He never expected to find anything in common with the man, and he definitely never expected to be his _friend_ , let alone something that he could almost safely say was a lover.

A, being because Zack was there too. Not that he blamed Zack for not budging over, because Sephiroth was almost scarily human once you got down to it.

The current arrangement just highlighted that fact, and he closed his eyes, letting the man use a soft, short bristle brush to move through the short fluff he tried to call hair. Even though he knew it wouldn’t do any good, wouldn’t smooth the spikes or deal with any knots, it still felt nice.

Mostly, from what he could tell, that was because this _was_ Sephiroth, and it was what he wanted to do... and that was all that counted. At least at the moment.

He’d try to think up a better reason if Zack showed up with a camera.


	28. July 29th: Odd Talks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zack was fascinated, he could admit it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now with how they met posted [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6099236/chapters/13982247).

Usually, he couldn’t pin the man down for any quality time, which sucked, but he could understand why it had to be that way well enough. It’s not like they ever managed to even be in the same place for more than a week at a time, if that, and considering how long it had taken them to even get together in the first place... well, he figured he should be happy with what he got. For now anyway.

Cid was one cranky little guy, but that was cool. He could do cranky, in fact, he even offered up machine talk in turn. His thing was bikes, where Cid’s was flyers, but the fact that he even understood the muttering, and could hear it, went a long way to easing initial tensions.

He had apologized for that.

Eventually.

Right now though, he was lazy, content with the post-sex haze that the blond seemed more than a little determined to smoke off. Fine, though he, personally, thought that the guy smelled better than the tobacco, he wasn’t idiot enough to argue the man doing it near him. Sadly, it was almost a certainty that he would lose if he tried to compete, and the guy really was an awesome person to hang out with.

When a guy could pin him down long enough anyway. 

Like right now for instance. Cid was definitely pinned, what with him being sprawled out over the man’s belly and legs to use him as a pillow. He was also petting his face and was ignoring the baffled look of incredulity on said face as he gave it attention. 

“Boy, what the hell do you think you’re doin?”

Well, he’d been able to ignore it up til then anyway. Grinning, he batted his eyes at the man, not _quite_ mock teasing. “You can’t guess?”

“Yer pettin me like a cat Fair, knock it off. It’s irritatin.”

Shifting his hand away, he leaned his other elbow on the bed by the man’s side and easily met the man’s eyes, grin never fading. “Not like a cat. If I was petting you like a cat, I would have gone for the ears.”

“That’s a dog. Stop grinning like that, it was weird and you know it.”

Waving the hand that he wasn’t leaning on to dismiss the request, he half shrugged. “Yeah, I know it’s weird. I don’t grow beards anymore y’know, haven’t since the year you met me.”

“If you’re gonna call that a beard, I’m going to admit that I’m a frog. That was whiskers. Baby whiskers. What the hell ever happened to those anyway?”

“I dunno. Just woke up one morning without them and they were gone for good.” His hand drifted back towards the older man’s face and he put his finger on his chin. “What do you think, would a beard suit me Cid?”

“No. You’re too girly for a beard to look right on you.”

“I think you’re thinking of someone else there Highwind. I am _not_ girly.”

As the blond took a deep draw off the end of his cigarette, Zack could have sworn a smirk touched the man’s lips. “Sure you’re not Fair. _Sure_ you’re not. If you keep saying that, eventually someone might start believing you.”

“Like you?”

“Nah. I was thinking more like some other one of the folks you spend time with, I’m too smart to get sucked into that ruse. Now. Stop pettin me already unless you want me to do somethin about the results.”

The words made his grin return from the amused smile it had faded into, and he moved his fingers to snatch the remaining bit of nicotine to put it out. “I can live with that. Think you can keep up?” 

“Course I can brat. It’s not like I’m _old_.”

Grin turning into a smirk, he crawled up to kiss the man’s chin. “Sure you’re not. Who knows, if you keep saying it, someone might believe you.”

He didn’t fight it when the man growled and rolled them over, leaning down towards him with narrowed eyes and a false angry expression. “You are such a little brat.”

“Yeah, I try.” This time, the grin didn’t go anywhere for a good long while. 

Then again, it was safe to say he had good reason to keep up the expression.


	29. July 31st: Thoughtful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aeris thought it was cute.

Sighing, she watched as Tseng, once again, veered sharply away from her after spotting her. Sometimes she had to admit that it was nice not to worry too hard, but other times she just wanted to thump her head against the nearest object.

There was no reason that any of her boys had needed to be that persistent about keeping the goons away from her. She didn’t mind the goons, they liked her cooking, she just minded the goons taking her anywhere, that’s all. Still, she couldn’t say she really minded too much. Regular visits from the goons were eventually replaced with regular visits with her boys, and she had to admit that her Zack and Cloud were better than Reno and Tseng pretty much any day.

Though, sometimes the exotic cute wasn’t exactly bad either.

Back to the topic at hand though. She was watching Tseng flee like some avenging angel was about to come down and get him through the heart. She had three guesses here, and she didn’t want to waste them on Zack and Cloud. She loved Cloud, she really did, but his type of protective didn’t instill deep-seated fears like that. As for Zack... well, Zack was a complete sweetheart that could beat you up if you pissed him off, but he didn’t really do threats. Not like that.

So this left Sephiroth. The lover that she saw rarely at the very best of times, and even less lately. 

Sighing, she gazed into the crowd, shaking her head in rueful resignation. She loved the man, she really did, but sometimes, he picked the strangest ways to show her he was still thinking about her. 

Apparently, she needed to send the man a basket of goodies via Cloud to show she was still thinking about him too.


	30. September 1st: Gentle Dreaming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cloud was really _really_ determined about this being a dream.

He felt fingers in his hair, light, gentle things. The sensation was enough to rouse him. Tifa never came into his room while he was asleep. She knew he didn’t take well to being woken, reacting before he was awake enough to realize what he was doing, which was plenty dangerous to the unprepared. Likewise, the children had been cautioned to stay out of his room, and it seemed that Marlene took the task of guarding his room for him while he slept very seriously. She would have alerted him in her excitement if any of the other members of AVALANCHE had arrived. But, even if one had slipped by, none of his companions had any cause to touch him.

Thus, he knew that it was none of those people who were petting his hair. Even if he’d wanted to think so, the hands were too big, the callouses not right for the sorts of things that Tifa did, and it was skewed from anything he could really expect from any of the others he could call friends. 

His first thought, on focusing on the face over his, was that this was a dream. There was no chance it was reality, not with that distinct violet glow. He’d missed that stupidly crazy black hair... 

The man was dead. Thus, it had to be a dream, because there was no way that Zack was here, petting his hair and studying him with that too fond look, apparently, somehow, unaware he was being stared at in turn.

At least, he seemed unaware until he spoke, voice a bit choked in shock. “Zack?”

It was then that the violet eyes widened, the petting halting at once. He wished the man hadn’t stopped. It was his dream. Zack shouldn’t stop doing things he liked in his dream. 

He didn’t have enough good dreams for them to get interrupted like that. 

“Spike.” The tone was cautious, in turn, and the man moved his other hand to run his fingers down his cheek, voice entirely serious. “You can see me?”

What did he...? What kind of question was that? This was a dream! Dreams didn’t need to make sense. Not wanting this to start veering into reality, to lose a chance to enjoy something for once, he pulled the man down, not really caring that he startled him, and kissed him. 

His dream. His chance.

There was obvious shock on the part of the other man, startlement, but the gentle hands never turned aggressive, and he never tried to get away. Instead, the dark-haired figure relaxed, finally kissing back, finally acting like he imagined Zack would when kissed. He was confident, bold, but didn’t do anything exceedingly creepy or disgusting.

It was perfect, and it wasn’t enough. There was more, right? Of course there was more. 

This was Zack, Zack was creative. Zack was also keeping his hands to himself for reasons that he couldn’t fathom for the life of him. That meant that when clothes needed to go away, he was the one that needed to get rid of them.

Oddly, he found that he didn’t mind. He ignored the strange little details that tried to seep into his consciousness about this. Zack’s skin was a hint too cool. The clothing he took off himself landed in a heap while Zack’s dissolved away. There was no breathing, no heartbeat. But there was Zack. There were rough startled noises as his hands hungrily roamed the skin. There were pleased little groans as his fingers did just the right thing. 

There was enough that the strangeness of the dream could easily be dismissed just like that. As a dream.

Thus, when Zack stopped them to make sure he wanted to go further, he glared. It was a rude interruption of something he was enjoying, and he wanted it to go back to its utterly improbable state of obscene fantasy. Thankfully, Zack had understood and hadn’t argued with him further, only demanding lotion, which some squirming had him locating. 

He didn’t question why the dream was in a place that looked just like his room. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was the sensation of being filled, the murmured assurances. The sharp sensations of pleasure and aching that shouldn’t have been that tangible, no matter how good the dream. Had he come from the lifestream to visit him?

If he had, all the more reason to cling to this. If it was something like that, he wanted the man to try it again. Needed him to. 

When he arched in his climax, he felt strong hands on his skin, and when he let himself go back to ‘sleep’ the sensation of being alone never set in. 

He didn’t ever want that sensation to go away. He wanted to keep it forever. Even if he knew that a dream, no matter how real, couldn’t last. 

That didn’t mean he couldn’t hope. 

-o-o-o-

When the blond was finally asleep again, he wasn’t sure what to do. 

Spike had kept insisting and insisting that it was a dream. A wet dream apparently, but still a damn dream. 

But it wasn’t. He’d been awake the whole time and hadn’t even realized it. How he’d known he was there was a mystery. How he’d seen him a bigger one. He’d never reacted to the touches in his hair before. In the weeks he’d been stuck here, the blond hadn’t shown any signs that he’d been aware that he had a ghost following him around.

Maybe... it was a fluke? 

Maybe.

He’d check in the morning, see if he was still as invisible as ever to the rest of the world... and if he was... If he was, he’d just have to figure out what to do then.

Though, if Cloud could still see him... he couldn’t say he minded that at all. 

Of course, he still had to figure out how to get the blond to believe that he wasn’t dreaming, or, worse, hallucinating, but he could deal with that.

He could deal with a hell of a lot if it meant that, finally, he was going to be able to help Spike again instead of just watching.

He just hoped that it wasn’t a fluke. He hoped really, really hard. 

It was all he could do.


	31. September 5th: Glass Walls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yazoo did not like the idea of being without the murmur.

The voice had always been there, lurking at the back of his mind, a whispering constancy that was, he thought, very unlike what Kadaj always claimed mother had been. Mother had been demanding, driving, an obsession that he thought would drive the smallest of them mad. 

He had seen no reason to interfere with that process, for madness made his brother happy, as fighting made Loz happy, and he had had no cause to deprive them of happiness, even if ultimately what made them happy wasn’t good for them. He had had no desire for them to take his, after all, the confidence and the murmurs in his mind, the sanity where Kadaj only got madness. It was selfish, and he was not selfish, but this one thing he did for himself.

They had been three from one. Loz as one part, a child in thought, as they all were, but a simple one, content with the physical realm. Kadaj as emotion, charisma, demand. He was spoiled, and it was his task to be so. He, in turn, was the mature one, the one with rationality and distance from the entire matter. He would hold his counsel unless asked to help... and neither of his brothers tended to ask him any of his opinions on what they did.

So Kadaj was the leader. Because Kadaj was the leader, he had known that when the whispers resolved, it would not be in him, the most logical of them, but in that driven madness that was his smaller brother. 

He had not been wrong. Sadly, and the tainted playfulness of mother had destroyed them all. Their blond brother, the one Kadaj hated so for retaining his own identity, had been returned to his loved ones, but they had had nothing left for them there. As always, he and Loz had followed his brother, into death, into the lifestream, where finally his smaller brother had found some peace.

He had his mother figure, and Loz had someone to laugh with, though the man was odd. 

Still, it was... disheartening. The whispers, on death, had ceased. They had been there even through the fight, even as madness and their eldest brother had taken Kadaj... but now they were not, and he found himself to have drifted even further to simply observe his siblings. They were happy, at last, and it was no longer destroying them, but he was no longer content. Dying had taken the one thing that he had had apart from them, and while he loved them, it was not the same.

He was alone. 

They did not notice when he slipped away from them, but then, he had taken care that they had not. They had done nothing wrong, not really, and he did not want to upset them with his own melancholy.

Instead, he simply walked, wandered amid voices, the dead, and none of them were right. None of them were the solid stone that was his eldest brother, the one _he_ had depended on as Kadaj had craved a mother’s acceptance. Loz had needed only them. 

Turning his thoughts from the other two, he focused on his surroundings. Aeris, now mother to Kadaj by their mutual admission, was not mother for him, and thus would simply remain as Aeris, had cautioned them to always be aware of where they were in this place. To be lost was to be consumed, and to be alone was to become part of the many.

He believed her, of course, she knew the perils of this place far better than he ever had or could... but it did not seem so very important. He wanted to find the voice. It could not have been destroyed. The man was far too determined to carry on to have been destroyed, so he simply must not have had the ability to reach out to them in this haze of the many. 

It was less disheartening than the idea that he had simply cast the three of them away once they had died, deeming them useless in their failure to allow him to resume a life too many times interrupted. 

He did not share such thoughts with the others. He knew they would worry and would not understand. It did not keep them from haunting him, and thus, this. He would find his way back to the others once he had some sort of peace again, something to settle him into the new life that death had provided for them. 

He did not know how long he wandered, but a touch on his shoulder was not unexpected. It had not been as long as he needed, but it had been longer than he believed it would be before one of the others came searching. 

“You should not be here alone.” The murmur was soft, but was not one of the four he had left behind. It was, were he honest with himself, the voice he had least expected, his thought of having been abandoned suddenly seeming much sharper in the face of the one that was supposed to have done so. “If you have nothing to tie you together, you will scatter in this place.”

He twisted so that his eyes met the likewise feline green of the one touching him, and it was the child in him, mature or not, that caused him to react as he did. He hugged the man. Tightly and without permission he clung, almost surprised when the other made no move to push him away. “I could not hear you.”

“I know.” Light fingers moved over his hair, gently threading into the strands to grip, and he didn’t argue the action. He had never truly spoken to the man, never honestly touched him, he had just been the voice of stability and reason. “Gainsborough is fiercely protective and lets nothing in to the three of you when you are near. Especially not myself.”

“She deliberately...?” 

“No.” He had many opinions of the woman, but before, he could not really say that they were bad ones. Some jealousy, at the worst, but he had not thought that she would keep their brother from them. It was a relief that he did not need to think badly of her. “She simply rejects any possible taint from diluting you.” 

“You are not a taint! You’re our brother.”

“I am something that used Kadaj for my own means. I could have destroyed his very being when I did that, had I so chosen.”

“But you didn’t.”

“No, I did nothing of the kind.” He peered up the slight distance as they both fell quiet, taking in the features of the man. They were so similar... but the differences were glaringly obvious. Kadaj was closer than he, but... “Why are you here alone Yazoo?”

“I...”

“Did you miss me that much?”

He did not hesitate, not actually being expected to explain, he realized, so he simply nodded. “You were not there anymore.”

“They have been searching for you.”

“I expected them to.”

Another silence drew out before Sephiroth nodded, the hand that had not been touching him wrapping around his waist. “Do you intend to go back?”

“I want to stay.” The tone was softer, and his eyes never left the intense ones focused on his, trying to convey that he meant that without it infusing his tone.

His brother understood. He could tell he did, and the kiss was almost gentle, even though the hand in his hair was tightening in a gesture that could be labeled nothing but possessive. “Then you stay.”

When he was kissed again, he kissed back, focusing on the stability and presence of his missing brother. If he was to stay, he would leave the others to their new family. Sephiroth needed him more.

He did not want the man to be alone either.


	32. September 5th: Little Reminders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is actually a piece posted with a companion elsewhere as well over [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5728519/chapters/13199779).

“Are you serious?” Zack’s voice was somewhere between disbelief and amusement, eyes a little wide as he stared at the item in his hands.

“Quite. Aeris and I have been... talking about these things of late.” Keeping his tone low, he eyed him in a deeply considering manner, aware of the way the violet gaze looked to his face in startlement. “I have to admit that while many of her ideas are outlandish, Cloud agrees that this one in particular... suits you.”

“Seph. This is a collar.” He wiggled the piece of leather at him. “I’m lost. How does a collar and me go together? That is not your kinky face.” He paused and looked to the side just behind him. “Hell, it’s not Spike’s either, so what gives?”

The blond cleared his throat and then reached out to snatch the bit of leather from the other teen’s hands. “Well... I know you talk, a lot, about the fact that you don’t get to spend enough time with any of us... between Aeris being under plate, Sephiroth being him, and me being a trouper... Well, we thought that maybe this would help some? I mean, it would just be a bump under your uniform, and I know a few of the other First Classes wear necklaces and things, I’ve seen them, so it wouldn’t exactly be suspicious or anything...”

He was less than surprised when Zack reached over to cover the blond’s mouth, halting the rambling flow of words when the lull presented itself. “Okay. I didn’t realize that you guys were paying all that much attention to my whining.” The tone was calmer, a bit more understanding as to where they were coming from. 

Still, it was encouraging that he was accepting the idea. With three lovers, the man had plenty, so it would be less than the best idea for him to be left entirely without something to remind him he had them, on those occasions he was, indeed left alone. A relationship such as theirs, after all, could only sustain so many people. “Will you wear it then Zack?”

The black haired man glanced from the blond to him once before his smile turned rueful and he nodded. “Alright. But I swear, if anyone pokes fun at me for it, you have to make it up to me.”

The relief on Cloud’s face was palatable, and the words drew the faintest of smiles from him as well. “I am certain it should be no hardship.”

“Well, in that case, I think we’re good to go. Who wants to put it on me?” 

He traded an amused look with Cloud before gesturing him to go ahead. The idea had come from Aeris. The collar had come from him. The blond needed something of importance in this claiming venture too. 

Collaring their wayward Zack fulfilled that quite nicely.


	33. September 7th: Everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sephiroth didn't fall so much as found himself dragged down.

At first, mother was everything good. She was gentle, loving, accepting and reassuring. She was everything he had never gotten enough of. She did not admire, but she was proud of him. That was a familiar sensation, but so very different in that way. He did not fully understand how she seeped into him, made him crave her physical presence. But he did, so he went to her, dismissing the pangs of before.

The loyalties of before. They had never done anything for him. Not enough at least, and that left him alone, with only mother to fill the void. Mother was more than happy to, wanting to make him better, stronger.

She wanted him to destroy and let his anger go. He resisted, only a bit, and she persuaded, almost demanded, that he proceed. He did not want to disappoint her, so he moved forward, did as she asked of him, and things grew harder. 

He met her, finally met her in body outside his mind, and they tried to keep him away from her. He ignored the pains, mother helped him, caressed him securely in his mind to keep him focused on her as inconsequentialities were dismissed.

It brought him pain when that dismissal led to burning, aching sharpness in the lifestream, when it tried to swallow him and his mother whole. 

Then, things turned. 

Mother was angry with him for allowing himself to be beaten. She was angry he did something that displeased her so soon after she was to be free. She was so very angry that it added to the burning, it made places ache inside that the lifestream did not touch.

Even after the lifestream receded, her caresses turned into taloned grips, her light loving entwinement turned to pure vicious possession. He wanted to know why and she refused to say. He was hers, and no others, and it was a failing she would fix. She was determined to fix his failure for herself and allowed him no chances outside that.

If it hurt, it was not unfamiliar. It was everything he had known before and more. It was everything bad and sharp and jagged that had been there and been ignored.

If at first she was everything good... 

By the end she was simply everything, and it was no longer his choice to make.


	34. September 10th: Pure Ideas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was one swift change, a moment's pause, then Sephiroth decided to take an entirely different route to madness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was given its own post because of how long it is, and the fact I think I might have written a sequel. I can't find said sequel, but if I do, it'll get put over [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5966143) as well.

His awareness was filled with Mother, the intense, addictive touch of one who loved him having been burned across his mind. If he had been more alert, he would have found the sensation repugnant, distasteful as the invasion it was. At the moment, however, it seemed that the choice had been taken from his hands. 

He could not move, was in fact securely chained down in something that could only be a vehicle of some kind. His head throbbed horribly, and his senses were otherwise muddled, as though he’d been drugged. As it stood, it took him far longer than it should have for him to resolve the voices coming from somewhere above his head to be just that. Voices.

“Zack, he went insane out there! He nearly killed Tifa. What if he does it again? We can’t risk him doing this to another village. It wouldn’t be right. As is I’m not sure I can forgive him. I’m not sure I even want to.”

He had to struggle to bring to clarity what could have made the teen as angry as he sounded. The flickers of flame and blood slowly revealed themselves, and he found that there was no remorse in him. Those events had been something that had been long in coming.

“And you saw just what was luring him in, same as I did! It was some freaky alien whosawhat that was getting him to call it mother. It’s... I’m not saying we should leave him alone. I didn’t mean it like that. We’ll keep an eye on him, you and me, and we’ll make sure this never happens again.”

“Okay, Zack. But we have to be careful, okay?” 

“Okay, Spike.” The murmur was rough, low, and then both fell silent. 

He felt himself being pulled back from the edge of awareness, either by drugs or pain he wasn’t certain, but he did vaguely recall hearing mother’s frustrated scream at the edge of his perception before he was pulled into the dark of unconsciousness once more.

-o-o-o-o-

When he next woke, it was far quieter. The room was just that, a room, with bare walls and an actual bed. He was still bound, though it was only at the wrists, and he wondered if they were truly intended to restrain him, considering how little it took for him to snap them and set them aside, only leaving quickly fading bruises in the wake of the action.

Perhaps they had been trusting in him to leave them on? Somehow, he had doubts of that, considering the snippets of talk he had heard on the drive back to wherever they were. 

But, as he moved through the empty corridors of the building, he became aware of voices, lower, cautious words being traded, and he took care not to reveal himself as he approached their source.

“What are we going to do with him? We can’t stay here Zack. Even if we wanted to, the military would come after us eventually, wouldn’t they? We kidnapped Sephiroth! I’m surprised it’s not all over the news yet that he’s gone missing.”

“Spike. It’s not on the news because it would give them a bad rap. Hell, Nibelheim isn’t even on the news and you know as well as I do that what happened there was a big deal.”

“Zack...”

“No. We can’t leave. Remember? We have to keep an eye on him, get him back to normal. Things should be okay then, right?”

“You’re an optimist Zack. You know that right?”

“Yeah, I know.”

Even though he felt the bare brushes, intense and careful at the edges of his mind, he took pains to ignore them, focusing entirely on the pair beyond the doorway to block away the craving to go back to that place, to be powerless to those wants again. Then he stepped forward so that he could be seen. “You do not need to fear my having a relapse.”

They both twitched, violet and blue eyes both flicking to him in a heartbeat, and he lingered in the door frame, meeting Zack’s gaze first, then the almost bitter one of the blond. 

“I am away from what was influencing me, for now, so here, at least, you need not fear me returning to the state I was in previously.”

Cloud’s back had straightened, the edge of a hurt glare lingering under the intense stare he was being given. “You mean to say you destroyed my hometown because you were under the influence of something else?”

He paused, considered the words. “No. No, I did not say that at all. Merely... my inhibitions were being handled quite differently while I was there.” He did not look away from the gaze. “I hate most of humankind. I said unkind things, and I cannot say that the words and actions were unmeant.”

“Seph... Damn it, how can we ever trust you if you go saying things like that?” This was from Zack, the tone quietly anguished, and he realized that the man had still been trying to believe in him, in his lack of will. He could not admit to such a thing.

“I do not expect your trust. I do not expect your forgiveness. I merely expect you to carry out the task that you have chosen for yourselves. So long as you remain with me... then I will not be a danger to the world. I shall treat this as a promise.”

“You heard- You just- All of this was for a little company?!” 

He shook his head slowly and stepped back, lips quirking the tiniest bit in a fairly mocking smile. “No. It was because of the promise of love. One that still wants my attention even.” 

With that, he inclined his head and left the room, hearing intense cursing from behind him.

They would, in and of themselves, not be enough. He was aware of that, and he shifted his attention to thinking of things that would perhaps aid him in distraction from the steady pull that sought to draw him away from here.

He also, after a moment’s thought, realized that Shinra, as well, would need to be dissuaded from his use.

Turning the matter over in his mind, he decided to allow the thoughts to come to him in their own.

-o-o-o-o-

The answer did not come to him until he overheard Cloud furiously muttering under his breath that he should wear a bell, having apparently been startled once too often for his liking in the past week. He had watched the blond storm from the room before Zack had met his eyes, an almost regretful look there.

“Too bad you aren’t really a kitty Seph, that’s not really a bad idea for you.”

He did, of course, ignore the bewildered look Zack gave him as his thoughts turned over the proposal and he slipped from the room. The brunet likely had simply not expected to be abandoned in the kitchen so abruptly.

-o-o-o-o-

The sensation at the edge of his thoughts was not happy. He was aware of that, but it had been growing more demanding and forceful in his mind as he had started placing calls, not pre-informing the other two as to what they were about.

Reeve was a useful contact, the first that he made aware that he was alive, as were the other two. He informed him of what he needed specifically, and while there was shock enough from the other end to command total silence, he simply reconfirmed them and made certain the man knew that he did expect the solution to be found and made. 

Once he had determined that he would acquire those items, as soon as the mechanics of them were properly dealt with, he sought out the blond, watching him for long moments as he restlessly moved from one end of the yard to the other, practicing near vicious jabs and cuts through the air.

“Cloud.”

The word alone was enough to freeze the smaller figure in place, most likely due to the fact he had, until then, resisted the urge to call the teen by his first name at all. 

“What do you want?” The blond turned to him, looking more resigned than anything. In the last weeks, the anger had simmered to a low resentment, something often put away as nothing more happened. Eventually, perhaps, even that would be set far enough aside to not affect day to day life. It was, in fact, something he counted on.

“I heard you make a comment about me needing a bell, as one would collar a feline?”

An uncomprehending stare was the answer at first, then the other slowly nodded, blade tip dropping to rest against the grass. “Yeah... What about it?”

“Acquire one. A collar as well.” The blond didn’t react. If anything, the blond seemed... to have gone into shock, staring at him with wide eyes as though he’d never seen him before. At least, the attention did not seem particularly horrified this time.

When, finally, something came from the teen’s throat, it was little more than an incredulous squeak. “You want me... to get you a collar and bell?”

“Yes. Something that I could wear constantly without it being damaged or it damaging me, if you would.” He met the look for a moment more, and then dipped his head. “If any were to be awarded such an endeavor, it would be you, of course.”

He caught the flicker of comprehension, but did not linger to see if anger would follow it, instead slipping back inside.

-o-o-o-o-

It had taken three days for the blond to acquire something, just a slender black strip with a small bell, nothing that would irritate him through use, at least not to the point of him deciding to remove it. When he’d been offered it, the blond looking far more serious than he had, without anger for the first time since this entire circumstance had begun, his reaction had been to crouch and sweep his hair aside.

They both understood the meaning of that, and Cloud had not refused what he was being given, badly forged consolation or no. Once the collar was on, he left the room, soft jangles from the silver echoing almost inaudibly after him.

For the benefit of the blond, of course.

-o-o-o-o-

The rest had come another week after that. Surprisingly fast considering the degree of advanced technology he had more or less demanded. When he asked, he was only told that prior experiments had touched on the cybertronics, and the neural interfacing had apparently been something that had been done, though where he was not told. 

Reeve firmly stated that it wouldn’t be more than a day or two later that they would be found by Shinra proper, so whatever he was going to do, he had best do it quickly. He also said that if there were problems or pain after initial application, he had better call him, because he wasn’t going to get himself blamed because he fiddled around in something that he knew he wasn’t supposed to be. In all, Reeve had covered his own bases in the call, and in honesty, he did not really care.

Instead, he turned his attention to the contents of the box, which was not as big as he had expected. He could feel the other two lurking nearby, wanting to know what was going on, but they would be aware quickly enough.

In fact, the entirety of Shinra’s upper ranks would likely know quickly enough. That would be the perfect fall back to ensure that he was not forced out of the company of these two and back into that of the leech that was his mother. 

He slipped from the room before they could look, closing the door firmly behind him.

-o-o-o-o-

It was surprisingly difficult to fit his new acquisitions, and he was aware that, on some level, he had decided to humiliate himself for the rest of his life. On another level, he knew that this would be the most freedom he had, or ever would, know, because truly, this would not be the kind of madness that Shinra would be able to use. It would be an excuse he had never before had to rebel and stay where he wished to be.

He knew that there would be no recourse, as even if the other two had not forgiven him, their grievance was not one that they would allow to be taken up by the company, which would sooner dismiss it or destroy him entirely. If there was one thing he knew, it was that those two would not see him destroyed. Not while he willingly put himself under their power as he had this last month. 

In a way, this would gain that power back for him, but he would say nothing. After all, felines were not the speaking kind. They were arrogant, willful, and did as they chose. 

It was as though the role was practically designed for this very situation. 

Carefully pulling the claws into place, he studied the way the snug material curved almost invisibly over the very tip of each of his fingers into a retractable claw. It was a bit painful, as the back bite of the claw was a set of three small metal wires just above the joint of his finger that would allow him to physically control the automated portion of the claw. Waiting patiently for the ache to fade, he carefully flexed his hand, taking the time to get familiar with the sensation required to get them to work as he knew they were supposed to.

He settled both sets, then studied the way they left a bit of a swell on the backs of his pale nails. In all, it was far from as unsightly as he feared it would be. Taking care that he did not accidentally set off his claws, he moved until he located a mirror, turning his head slightly once he ascertained the best position for the silvery white ears. Deciding on a placement that wouldn’t look too unnatural, he worked on settling first one of the appendages in place, then the other, the sting a bit sharper, as they took more to remain secured, but once he determined they were fully in place, he worked out the same issue the claws had given him, slowly figuring out how to make them move, the base remaining firmly in one place while the other parts slowly moved, reacting to what he was trying to do. He could not, yet, get everything to react exactly as he wanted, but it all worked.

So far at least. In time, he would learn to have more control over the items, and he would have time. 

He would do everything in his power to ensure he would. The rest, unfortunately, hinged on trust.

Stripping the remainder of his clothes, something he abruptly realized would likely be in the way hereafter, as he had no intention of removing and reapplying these items unless strictly required, and it seemed that, according to the note that came with them that indicated water resistance, it would not be unless he wished it, he folded them and set them aside. He would not need them anyway. 

He collected the last of the pieces to the ensemble. A tail, the only visible attachment a flexible metal rod of sorts that extended from the base of it, and looked it over. There was a small pattern of white amid the silver, a barely visible alternating shift that made him wonder again at the speed of creation considering the details. Had something of this nature formerly been in the works? Deciding to give it no further thought, he checked closer to the edges, seeing a few smaller prongs. They would likely keep it from twisting, and his own natural healing seemed to be a factor in keeping everything firmly in place. 

This, he did not really need a mirror for, so he didn’t use one, fingers mapping out the length of the metal from the end before he moved a hand to rest at the base of his spine, where his tailbone was. If he wasn’t careful, this would hurt very badly for at least a few days, though he would heal. Unlike most, he would heal. Taking a deep breath, he pressed the sharp edge against skin and carefully inserted the last piece of the shift in identity under the skin, hands forcefully steady so he didn’t fail it on the first try.

When the smaller bits sank into skin, he relaxed, realizing that he hadn’t temporarily paralyzed himself as his legs held. Good. Now, to see if he had pressed it close enough to the spine for it to pick up what he needed it to so it would be movable. Eying the new appendage, he worked on figuring out how to make it react, finding it more difficult than the smaller pieces. 

Either he’d done it wrong, it was broken, or he had to be more patient. In any case, the other two seemed to have had enough of waiting to see what he was doing with his mail.

And it was his mail too, as it had been given right to his hands before the messenger had left.

Of course, the first words he heard weren’t quite what he expected.

“Oh my fucking gods. Spike, am I really seeing what I think I’m seeing?”

The blond had no answer, blinking a few times and giving him a look rather similar to when he’d asked him to get the collar for this. 

He did not move, and neither did they, the tension that ran down his back, however, finally got the tail to twitch. One slow back and forth flick that indicated, in a manner he hadn’t quite intended, that their staring was unappreciated. At least the appendage worked.

Two, three counting his own, sets of eyes tracked to the limb, though his immediately looked back to the pair to determine what reaction would come after shock. 

Zack shifted from foot to foot. Cloud ended up staring intently at his toes.

Silence drew out.

Shaking his head slowly, he padded towards the pair, getting used to the way the metal reinforced tail shifted his balance, and he tilted his head at them, eyes narrowing the slightest bit. “No opinion?”

“You’re naked.” Zack spoke first.

“Yes, I know.”

“You’re wearing cat parts.” And Zack continued, though Cloud looked sideways, and he was fairly certain that it wasn’t the new appendages that were being studied. Interesting. Perhaps he would find another way to appease the boy’s grief?

“I am aware of that as well.”

Blue eyes tracked upwards, slowly, and he asked the question they were really both thinking. “Why?”

“You both want me to not destroy any more towns and cities.” He reached up, touched the blond’s cheek before he could twitch away, then looked sideways at the black haired man, a small smirk crossing his face. “And I refuse to not do so without you here. So I found a compromise. As I am already, in essence, to be the pet of you both, I chose a method that would leave me useless to Shinra.”

He slipped past them, stretching a little to get used to the sensation of having metal in his back. When he looked over his shoulder at them, their gazes were still on him. Hmm, he could use those looks. In fact... he would invite those looks, once he was used to this. After he got used to the concept of allowing them to pet him in less intimate ways.

“I trust that the two of you can keep my relative sanity to yourselves.”

With that, he slipped out of their sight towards the kitchen. 

One step of things was completed, and, truly, it was just the first of many. That did not mean that he did not need to eat in the meantime.


	35. September 22nd: Kids as Kids

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eiko and Vivi certainly worried Dagger at times.

No matter how wise he seemed, Vivi was no more an adult than Eiko was. She should have remembered that, should have kept it firmly in mind, but she honestly hadn’t thought she would ever walk in on the two in this position.

Or at least in the remnants of such a position, clothes being tugged on as the giggling pair whispered to each other, colored designs being hidden away before they even realized they were being watched. Though watched might have been the wrong word. Perhaps the phrase ‘stared at’ would have been better in place.

Either way, the children in their group had grown up at some point and they’d all missed it. A part of it at least.

“What were you two doing?” She wasn’t Eiko’s mother, but from the way the girl, teen now, spun around, to look at the opened door, she might as well have been.

“Nothing!” The tone was that of a startled girl, not of someone hiding something, but when she looked at Vivi to confirm this ‘nothing’ he had ducked his head and was scuffing a foot.

“Nothing?”

“Just drawing.” The tone was quiet from the mage, but in all the impression was of shyness, not guilt.

“Just drawing? You two were putting on clothes not a minute ago.”

A cough came from the younger Eidolon holder, and the girl bounced on her heels. “I wanted to see if I could pattern out something is all...” She moved closer, whispering what they were doing directly in her ear.

She was sure she could be forgiven her reaction. "You drew what? Where!?"

If nothing else, it got a giggle out of the two and reassured her that the kids were still kids. 

The brats.


	36. September 22nd: Retrieval

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sephiroth is seriously not catching the clue. Zack is not pleased.

Mistakes were made. Lives were ruined. But, in the end, none of that really mattered. He had what was his. He had Zack. 

His Zack. 

The man would never belong to another. The man would never have someone more important to him. Nibelheim may have fallen, but he did not lose his Zack there. He had never lost his Zack, and no bit of fluff had the ability to whisk him away.

Here, though, now, it was inconsequential to think such things. He had to recover him first. He had left him in safe keeping, or, at least, as such safe keeping got, but he had no way to get back to him at the moment. 

Thus, he took advantage of what was already there, he pulled strings and twisted the edges of minds until he could move again without being able to move, be again without being able to be... then he went. 

He knew that Zack wasn’t where he had been left, he was running, fleeing the safety of where his mother was.

Interception was no trouble at all, and if Zack looked surprised, it was no matter. The blond at his side did not move, but he felt the edges of strings that connected him now to so many, and he decided he had other priorities. Zack was just such an other priority.

“Seph... You’re dead!” The tone wasn’t a threat, it was shock. That was certainly a nice change. 

“No, I’m really rather not. Nor are you.” When he reached, the black haired man shied back. He did not approve, but he could understand. He followed. “You have no cause to run.”

“Like hell I don’t! Half of Shinra on my ass and the man who put it there right in front of me. Like that’s not at all creepy. Fucking yeah right Sephiroth. Just get back to wherever you came from, okay? You’ve already done enough.” The words trailed into an almost pleading note, but it was something he chose to ignore.

“No.” Hand moving forward, he caught the dark hair, longer now, by way of using the burden the man carried to give him a bit of advantage. “I came all this way to get you.”

“Me? Um. Well, you found me, and I’m awesome, see, so you can just let go now.” 

Jittery tones now? He was making his Zack nervous? That wouldn’t do at all. Pulling harder, he dragged the man closer, shifting his body when the arm not on the fluff came between them to ward him away. That was hardly going to be a hindrance. He wanted to kiss him, so he did, ignoring the stiffness of body under his lips. 

He would, eventually, calm down. 

And he had patience for that, even if it did seem that he would have to bring the fluff along. 

No matter, he would find a use for it eventually.

Deepening the kiss, he focused on that, using presence to pressure the man into compliance. Later, he would reassert the willingness.

For now, he had simply missed him, and he needed to appease that first.


	37. September 27th: On Light Feet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nuriko wished it was more.

He knew that the man would not approve of his actions. He knew that he believed himself devoted to Miaka, to someone he didn’t even see for herself. He was devoted to a fairy tale and refused to see anything else, and, sadly, he found he could not blame him. The girl really was much like the stories presented she would be and, in a way, that itself was unnerving.

Tonight was his chance to step away from being what he was. No warrior tonight, just the concubine, though sadly untouched, that he’d been before the girl came here. Just attention to unreturned feelings that needed a bit of a boost so that he could reassure himself that it was indeed a real feeling and not something he’d deluded himself into on a wish and grief.

He did not need his strength to get into the room, finding the door unlocked in a way that spoke of hope he knew wasn’t directed at himself. Shaking his head, he pushed through into the room, making sure to secure it behind him, long violet hair flipped back away from his face as not to fall over his shoulder and accidentally wake the emperor. He did need his sleep, and he did not wish to disturb that for his own selfish whims.

And it was selfish. He had no doubt of that, but he couldn’t help having wants, and insecurities were far and beyond par for the course when it came to hopes of affection from this one. So he was carefully light on his feet, using a learned grace that he’d found suited him well, and he moved to the beside. 

The moonlight enhanced the finely drawn features, and he repressed the urge to sigh. The man would not be him without his arrogance, but he could not say it was unearned. No, no matter how foolish that conceit seemed to paint him, their emperor was nothing if not a beauty. 

Cautiously, careful to make sure he did not wake the man, he sat on the edge of the bed, his hand smoothing the skirt down as not to cause it to make noise when sliding across the bedding. The other hand reached out to ghost over long fine hair, careful not to wake, and he grew slowly bolder when a delicate touch to his face did nothing to rouse the man.

He did not go beyond the exposed skin of face and neck, keeping the touches carefully gentle and not enough to tickle at once, and it was only when he felt urges that would do nothing but ill in this situation flare up that he pulled back fully.

He would not risk revealing more than he had through an accident that could well have been prevented. 

Letting out a careful breath, he slowly retraced his steps, backing towards the door to slip out as quietly as he’d arrived. 

If he had not paused to catch his breath, he would have missed the rustle of covers and the distinct sounds of movement within, but instead of seeing if the emperor had woken, he simply fled back towards his rooms. 

He did not, truly, wish to know if the emperor knew he did these things, and it would be worse if he was imagining him as someone else when he did. If he did not check, he could pretend it was for him. 

In the morning he would be a warrior again, so he thought that it was enough to be granted this dream at least.

Just a little private fantasy to keep him going.

He was sure it was more than some had, so he would be satisfied, even if it seemed not enough.


	38. September 28th: Long Road Around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zack died. Or rather, Cloud believed Zack to be dead. Zack believed Zack to be dead too in fact, but they were both wrong, and years later, an old lab proved it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story also has it's own posting over [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5967030) due to how big it is.

Zack was, much as she hated to admit it, a common name. It was a name that uncreative people gave their kids, not that the kids ever ended up being uncreative themselves. Not from what experience seemed to be showing her. The Zack she’d known as a child had been bright, strong, sweet, the kind of guy she wanted to kidnap and hold hostage just so she could spend time with him. 

Cloud had had a Zack too. He hadn’t remembered him, not for the longest time, but when he had it seemed like that guy was something special too. Brave, loyal, determined, a great guy to be a role model for a lost kid and an even more lost experiment. She was pleased that the name ‘Zack’ hadn’t been tarnished in her memories, because even if _her_ Zack had been a SOLDIER, he never tried to hurt her, he never did anything bad to her at all.

The idea that there might not be two Zacks in SOLDIER never occurred to her, and she knew why. Who wanted to think their childhood heroes were dead in a grave somewhere, or worse, dust in the wind without even a grave to call their own? Even if he was the enemy, her Zack had been a hero.

She wished that there were more people like him, and if those people had the same name, so much the better. 

So, when one day her and Cloud were talking, and the subject came up, she went so far as to confide she’d known someone good from the Shinra military as a child. Said that was what let her think an ex-SOLDIER might be safe to be around in the first place. He’d accepted that, and later they’d gone on their ways for a while.

It never came up between them again, but every so often she knew he’d go up to where his Zack had died, and when she was riding in the Highwind with Cid, they sometimes saw him. None of them asked why, and everyone had their own rituals to deal with everything lost in the last decade or more. 

Even her idiot dad had his own ways to cope. 

So when the haze of Omega was over, and the dust was finally cleared for the third, fourth, tenth? ...time, she just answered the call that said more labs were found. They all came when the major things happened, at least, when they could. Usually, she was there, she had nothing better to do most of the time. Her country didn’t need her, not yet, but she tried. This time, most of the lot was either unreachable or just plain didn’t have the time to spare to come out. It was a lab, and unlike many disasters, it was something that really didn’t need them all. 

Honestly, the triplets hadn’t really needed them all, and Vinny had handled the majority of the last disaster all by himself. She’d helped, of course. He’d needed a hand, but she hadn’t been needed in the last of the final moments, even if they’d all been there. And she was dwelling way too much on the past today.

Today it was her, Cloud, Cid and that was about it. Barrett and Nanaki were pretty busy. Someone had to stay with the bar and kids if there wasn’t an impending disaster to send them to Elmyra, so Tifa was out. Vincent’s phone was ‘broken’, and Cid was, honestly, only there because he had to bring them there anyway, but Cloud could have managed _that_ little bit all on his lonesome if he’d _really_ wanted to.

But... she’d talked to him enough to know he wouldn’t go in one those places by himself if he could help it. She didn’t know why. She really didn’t want to. Still, they made her nervous too. 

It was likely why she was thinking about all these things. Or maybe it was the thing, person, they’d found inside. He hadn’t been the least little bit healthy, he’d been older, hair ragged, and surviving through means that were questionable considering that the techs in this place had to have left at least a couple months before.

But the guy was alive. 

He was Zack, and he even grinned weakly at them, more Cloud really, but the shock of seeing him wasn’t lost on her either. 

That was why she was really thinking all these things. She’d avoided the thought and it was really obvious on reflection. Her and Cloud had the same Zack. Not that Zack recognized her right off, and that was just fine with her. Cloud... well, Cloud had plenty on his plate right now, and she knew how to be generous. Really.

She could wait until a bit later to remind her childhood idol of her existence. 

First, of course, they had to get him home.

-o-o-o-o-o-

When they first found him, it was awkward. Not in the social moors kind of way, but in the ‘oh god you’re back from the dead?!’ way that he seemed to be getting from Spike. Poor Spike... not that he’d had it better. _This_ pen he hadn’t had the freewheeling chances to get loose from like in Nibelheim, and gods only knew how much he’d tried. 

He’d been immersed in more mako, on a schedule he hadn’t been able to fathom, and he remembered vague dreams of talking with his girl and seeing Spike in situations he couldn’t remember ever happening in real life. At first, he’d wondered if he lost his mind. After what had happened to the blond, he grudgingly had to admit that it wasn’t exactly unlikely. He couldn’t bring himself to care at the time though.

He ate when they actually remembered to feed him, which... up til the rescue had been a while. Usually, they didn’t go more than a few hours before passing something along, the longest span in the time he’d been there having been without was while he’d been in mako, dropped into an uneasy sleep that he knew better than to risk but had anyway.

Gods, he’d needed rescued, and it looked like the rescuers hadn’t even meant to do it. Which was okay, he hadn’t really expected to see Spike again, even if he’d hoped. He’d had one of the lot that ran the place ranting about the blond enough to know the kid was okay, and that was good. He wanted to get to him, of course, but he hadn’t been as worried when he hadn’t gotten the chances to. 

The kid was safe already, even if the kid didn’t seem to be hunting for him.

So when Spike finally showed... the last thing he’d expected was to be clung to like that. He’d have thought the years would have dampened the grief, knew that the boy likely thought he was long dead... but here he was, upset over the whole thing. Then again, he supposed he’d be overjoyed if they were reversed, so that might have been it. 

Spike wasn’t alone when he arrived, having crashed in with a blond man that was abrasive but refreshing, and a girl that tickled on the edges of his mind with something that he just didn’t have the energy to hunt for. He was hungry, Spike was upset, and he was getting out of the damn white room. _Those_ things had all the priority. So, in a bizarre parody, a reversal of the prior reality, Cloud helped him walk out of there, the other two sticking close, one behind as the other went ahead, and he finally saw open sky again for the first time in practically forever. 

It was all he could do not to fall over from trying to see the sky all at once, and he took a deep breath, reveling in the sense of freedom. The technicians had obviously been gone from the lab they’d taken him through. He’d been abandoned.

He wouldn’t be missed, and he wouldn’t be hunted. The thrill of knowing that alone was almost enough to make him dizzy, because it had been so long... back to before the year of the fire and betrayal, since he had had the chance to feel something like that. And now... he had the chance. 

Finally. And Spike was right with him... or maybe that was a few steps ahead.

The ship they were on wasn’t making the blond air sick. Once he was settled, he wasn’t the one he stayed with, going to talk to the other blond who had brought him here, clearly the ship’s owner and maybe something more to the blond. It was in the posture. There was a lean to the blonds, a familiarity that spoke of more than just friendship. 

Life threatening situations had to have been there, it was in the relaxation of the shoulders, the posture he’d never seen so at ease... Cloud had gone and grown up on him and he wasn’t, he realized in a jarring rush, the one that Cloud depended on anymore. It didn’t fade his smile when the blond broke off his talk to come back to him, but it made him look closer. He was older, he didn’t look it so much as feel it... and he’d missed that. 

Maybe he should have tried harder after all? 

Too late now in any case, and he felt a sinking sensation as he realized that he didn’t know what to do with himself if Cloud didn’t need him anymore. But, now wasn’t the time for that. That was for later. For now the blond _did_ still need him. He needed to know he was alive, he needed to know he was real... he needed to know he wasn’t going to go raving insane any second now. 

The last made a chill spread in his chest, but he understood, ate the food he was given and reassured the blond when he was awake that he would be just fine, thank you. He was glad that Spike finally had more friends, so he tried to urge him not to spend every waking moment in his presence, even if the familiarity of him was bracing. Likely to them both.

He’d almost forgotten the woman that had shown up with them during the rescue until she showed up again a few weeks later, when his clarity was better and Cloud had been chased away to get some sleep. He was feeling well enough to realize who she was, this time, and why she’d been as surprised to see him as Spike had been. 

It was the little ninja. She’d grown up too. At least, he really had been under a rock these last years. He had an excuse for missing the fact she’d turned into a looker.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Even he wasn’t dense enough to miss it. As Zack had gotten better, Yuffie had been around more. It wasn’t unlike her, but it had taken a bit before he realized that she really wasn’t after his materia. She also wasn’t after anything else that he’d had for any decent span of time. No, after a while, he realized she was after Zack.

He wanted to ask her why, of course, because what interest could she have in an old SOLDIER they’d found in the labs? That was his friend, someone he’d felt bad about the death of. It was someone he cared a lot about, owed everything to... so what did Yuffie have to do with it?

He hadn’t understood it, and he hadn’t wanted to be direct about it, not at first... but there were signs they were getting close, and it was more disorienting that there were signs that they hadn’t started from scratch. He was oblivious, yes, he’d never denied that, but he wasn’t a complete rock. So he’d finally given in and asked. Both of them.

The answers hadn’t been the same, but they also hadn’t been different. Zack had smiled at him, a wry look instead of an amused one, and asked if she’d ever tried for his materia when they first met. When he’d nodded, he’d just shaken his head and said that he supposed that he hadn’t had that much influence after all when she’d been a kid.

Yuffie’s answer had simply been ‘When I was small, a SOLDIER saved me once’ and she’d smiled, giving him a hug before vanishing off to another room in the house.

Now, he was scared, because those two were getting closer, and he just couldn’t find the right connection to Zack anymore. He tried, they both did, but the pieces just didn’t seem to line up. There were hints and edges that were too jagged and raw, too many expectations, or sheer lack thereof, for their opposing views of each other to mesh. 

They were trying, but Yuffie seemed to be succeeding where he was failing, because he knew it wasn’t Zack. He thought he’d finally gotten over the deaths, not forgotten them, but moved on, but now that Zack was here, all he wanted to do was hold onto him, and he was slipping away before he could even figure out how.

He would never grudge the man being happy, he’d seen as much hell as he had over the years... but he’d never thought this distance would exist, that there would be a gap there, and he’d always had the idea that if he’d had a chance to do it over, he’d do it all right. 

He’d never thought that he would be back to the place of looking in, and this time he had an invitation to come inside... he just wasn’t sure how to get in the door. 

-o-o-o-o-o-

She was worried about Cloud. She had remembered Zack. When she’d seen him she almost had to quell the urge to order Cloud to take him somewhere else. He hadn’t caused what happened in Nibelheim. He’d rescued her Cloud. He’d done so many good things, she was appalled at herself for the reaction. 

At least he’d been asleep and hadn’t seen it. As it was she wasn’t going to forgive herself for thinking it, not when Cloud had been so uncertain for those first few weeks, fretting at the man's bedside like an overwrought lover while he'd gotten better from the malnutrition, had gotten to the point where he could walk without help.

It had kept Cloud away, but he had come back eventually, and Yuffie seemed to have slipped in during those few minutes where Cloud hadn’t been looking. The few minutes where none of them had been looking.

She didn’t see things like they did, and she knew that, but she couldn’t understand why Cloud was so upset. Zack wanted to stay here, he was making friends with the others, and possibly even going a few steps further with their youngest companion from the meteor days. Thus, she didn’t understand why Cloud was upset. Zack wasn’t going to leave, and Yuffie may be a thief, but she wasn’t blind.

Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to the bar. She had to open soon, and that wouldn’t keep, the others would.

-o-o-o-o-o-

They were both starting to drive her batty. Cloud was being all mopey and weird, while Zack looked like someone had kicked him a few times. She didn’t even mean that in the sparring way either! 

So, clearly they needed to talk. She had the idea this was all her fault, but hey, she had a right to be here too and she knew they both knew it, so maybe it would’ve happened anyway and she just made it go faster. Either way, it was massively irritating and she wanted them to kiss and make up or something already.

Thus, the next time she caught them into a room together, she darted in and locked the door behind her, making a sound of victory at them as she barred the exit. “Now! Now you both shall stop the emo!” 

“Um, Yuffie? What are you doing?” She’d startled them, and she couldn’t help but grin at the fact she had, but she didn’t let it stop her from leaning on the door and crossing her arms. 

She would answer the question though. “You two need to quit already. See, look, I have this mundo crush on Zack there. I think Cloud might too or something, which is cool, but he’s been massively mopey and the downer is totally killing me here.” She paused, giving the tense blond a look and sigh. “And that sucks. So I want you two to knock off the ooey gooey sads. If it goes there it goes there, and if not, oh well. So, talk.”

Zack gave her an incredulous look before glancing over at Cloud, who seemed ready to book it even if she was in the way. Fooey. She was all braced to cling to the door frame before Zack finally spoke. “Spike. I’m sorry.”

The blond had made it about halfway to the door, and her, before he paused, his whole attention immediately diverted to the black haired man as soon as he registered the words. Thankfully. “What?” He also seemed a little shocked if she was any judge.

“I said...” Zack got up then and moved to stand right in front of the blond, meeting his eyes. “I’m sorry. I could have been there these last years, and I couldn’t figure out how to get back to you. It’s my fault we have this huge gap. Hel’s grace, if I hadn’t gotten myself knocked something nasty up on that cliff, we wouldn’t have been separated in the first place and you wouldn’t have had to go through whatever horrors you had to without me. So... I’m sorry. Real sorry Spike.” By the time he finished talking, she’d had to start to lean towards them, because she almost couldn’t hear the words at all.

That meant she was in the perfect position to twitch when Cloud up and hollered. “No!” the blond was already shaking his head, and she resisted the urge to sigh at them. “No, Zack. If you’d left me there and run, you could have come back and gotten me. You almost died up there because of me, I thought you _had_ , so don’t you dare go and apologize to me for that. I missed you, but I never blamed _you_.”

“Spike, I _did_. I ran and you had to come to me, remember? It didn’t do any good and... well, I don’t want you apologizing to me either, and I know you want to. I recognize that look. We... I guess we just needed to get this out in the air. I mean, fuck Spike, you don’t even need me around here anymore. I’m screwing up the cozy niche of a life you made yourself.”

“No! You think... You really thought that? I _missed you_. You have no idea how much I missed you. We have a lot we need to talk about here if you think that. Seriously. Lots.” He looked to her, meeting her eyes. “Yuffie... Could you?”

She read the question there and nodded, pushing away from the door to duck out of it, closing it behind her so she would know the second they were done. She may want to hear it all, but it wasn’t for her to listen in. Not when she went to so much trouble to get them to work it out in the first place.

-o-o-o-o-o-

“You guys gonna be better now?”

Considering she was her, it was no shock that she was waiting by the door when they came out, both much calmer and more relaxed with each other than when they’d gone in. Spike glanced from her to him before just giving him a lopsided smile and silently excusing himself to go. “Yeah.”

“That mean I can finally get down to getting you interested in doing the dirty without feeling guilty about it?”

The question was asked in the same solemn tone as the first, and it was only when his gaze jerked to her that he realized she meant it. Still, he treated it like a jest, for the time being. “I dunno, what kind of dirty are we talking about here?”

She shrugged, pushing off the wall and coming to stand in front of him, a little grin crossing her face. “I dunno, I’d think of something though. Still, am I clear to try?”

“I think I can safely say yes to that now.”

“Great! We’ll figure out how to wiggle Cloud in later if we need to, okay?”

He nodded, a smile crossing his face for the first time in nearly an hour, and he looped an arm over her shoulders. “Alright. But when we get that far, I got a plan.”

“Sounds good to me. Now, I’m hungry, and I think Marlene got stuff from Elmyra for dinner.”

He paused, thoughts flitting to his dead ex-girlfriend's mother, but he quickly focused back on the here and now and started them down the stairs to the kitchen. “Sounds good to me too brat, let's see if they left us anything.”

“Course they did, how could they not wait for _us_?”

He knew that innocent tone. “You hid the food, didn’t you?”

“You bet your butt I did.”

Whatever else happened in the future, at least he wasn’t going to lose his friend in the process. Though, he had the feeling he was in for a crash course in group diplomacy on behalf of Yuffie. 

Still, that didn’t seem all that bad at all.


	39. September 30th: Remembered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And then, the end, when everyone is dead. It's kind of a happy thing.

Sephiroth was a stubborn being. He had patience and perseverance that would have put many to shame, and after the last time he had been resurrected, he turned that determination to things that better suited him. 

He turned it to waiting. He was hardly the only one on such a cause, the wisps of the dead being lost to the lifestream every day as their loved ones failed to die, failed to come to them before they forgot what they were waiting for and let themselves become one of the many. 

He waited for a very long time, and even then, when what he’d been waiting for finally arrived, he nearly missed it. It was nearly coiled up in the Cetra and her ghost of a lover, never to be seen again once it reached them, for they resided in another place entirely. He might let them have him later, once he’d settled the last of what he wished to know. 

The blue eyes were the same, the youth however, had finally faded some, had turned to a softer, more age settled countenance, but it by no means could be deemed old. It was what Cloud had become before he had finally died, slowed by time to be taken down by a nest of dragons he’d come upon unprepared after a delivery. 

He did not understand why the blond had so taken to the deliveries, but he’d done it to the end, and now he was here. 

All he was looking for was recognition. It was all he wanted, whether it came with love or hate, and he did not want to be forgotten, not by this last piece of him that had been long in returning. Not at all really... but that point was less important than the details. 

“Sephiroth.” His name was a murmur on the blond’s lips, but his hands lifted from the other’s shoulders just the same. 

He could not be killed here, as they were both already dead, but he had no wish to lose his solidity to a lack of caution. Time had made him fragile in this place, much as he was loathe to admit it. “Cloud.”

In either case, he did not get the reaction he’d expected, the blond slipping forward to wrap his arms snug around his middle as soon as the touch was off of him. “I missed you. I didn’t expect you to be waiting for me.”

“I wasn’t.” It was true, in the least technical sense, and that was enough for him, still, Cloud’s smile was much too knowing when he looked up at him a moment later.

“So you weren’t. But you’re still here.” There was a nod, and then the blond head tilted slightly, the motion familiar from a time he couldn’t remember anymore. “Are you the only one still here?”

His compulsion was to say yes, but that was a lie and he had never been a liar. “No.”

There was approval in the look he was graced with then, and when the blond stepped back, he took his hand, pulling him along in his wake. “Then I’m going to find them.”

He had nothing to say to that, but he hadn’t been forgotten. He still wasn’t, and he realized it was a sensation he’d missed.

He would hold onto it while it lasted.


End file.
